Cabbie’s Cooking

I made this last December when we had a Christmas party at our house.  I bought a box of frozen cream puffs from Sam’s and served this fudge sauce in a dish beside the cream puffs.  Oh my goodness!  It was WONDERFUL!  I could have eaten it all by myself.  Just phenomenal!  The recipe comes from my oldest sister, Janice.

FUDGE SAUCE

1/2 cup cocoa (or 5 squares chocolate)
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
dash of salt

Melt the above ingredients together over low heat.

Add: 1 can evaporated milk (13 oz.)
Bring to a boil, but don’t boil. Store in refrigerator.

My brother-in-law, Gilbert, sent me this recipe. I haven’t tried it yet, but Gilbert swears this is delicious! He tells me that one of ladies who is a good cook in his department makes this for their monthly birthday celebrations.  I wondered where the “Mexican” part of the recipe comes from, and he explained that the blending of cinnamon and chocolate - along with the pecans is a distinctly Mexican combination.  If you give the recipe a try, let me know how it turns out.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PECAN RICHES

3 squares (1oz each) unsweetened baking chocolate
1/3 c. butter or margarine
4 eggs
1½ c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1 ½ t. vanilla
Dash cinnamon
1 1/3 c. pecan halves (can add more)

In top of double boiler or in heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter; set aside to cool. In large bowl beat eggs to blend, then beat in sugar, corn syrup, chocolate mixture, vanilla & cinnamon. Stir in pecans. Pour into greased 2 qt, 2 inch deep baking dish. Place in pan with ½ inch hot water. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until just set.  Remove from water, cool thoroughly on rack.  Spoon into dessert dishes.  Makes 8 generous servings.

I first tasted this fruit cobbler just a few years ago. Since then I’ve kept the ingredients in my pantry for a quick dessert. It’s delicious - the almond extract gives it a yummy kick.

QUICK ‘N EASY TAKE-YOUR-PICK COBBLER

Ingredients:

2 cans fruit pie filling (take your pick - cherry, apple, peach - your favorite)
1/2 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans are good with cherry, but walnuts seem to go better with apple)
1 tsp. almond flavoring

Spray a 9 x 13 cake pan with cooking spray.  Spread the pie filling in the pan.  Sprinkle the powdered cake mix on top of the pie filling.  Melt the stick of butter and pour it on top of the powdered cake mix, using a spoon to spread it over all the cake mix. Sprinkle the nuts on top and dot with the almond flavoring. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. (The butter and cake mix combine during baking to make a cobbler type crust).  Enjoy!

This next recipe is delicious, too - very light and refreshing. I made it for a church ice cream supper last summer.  It has no sugar AND no fat. And it is actually GOOD for you - no guilt whatsoever required!

Orange Pineapple Sorbet (no fat and no sugar)

1 cup water

1 cup Splenda

4 cups orange juice

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 (20 ounce) cans crushed pineapple (in pineapple juice)

4 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

Stir the Splenda into the water and stir until it is completely dissolved.

In a blender or food processor, puree pineapple with its juice until smooth. Transfer to a metal bowl, and stir in the lemon juice, orange juice and orange zest.

Pour into an ice cream maker and follow the directions for freezing. This is a very refreshing dessert.

I love ice cream.  There’s just really nothing that tastes better than a delicious ice cream.  I’ve been looking for no-sugar and low-fat ice cream recipes to make for our church’s ice cream get-together.  Here’s one I tried that turned out REALLY delicious!

Peach Ice Cream (no sugar recipe - however it ISN’T low fat)

2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cup whole milk

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk

1 1/2 cup Splenda

1 cup cold water

2 tsp unflavored gelatin

4 Tablespoons cornstach

4 cups crushed peaches (or 4 cups crushed strawberries)

Whisk together the evaporated milk, cream, whole milk, nonfat dry milk, and Splenda in a large mixing bowl. Stir well and set aside.

Stir gelatin and cornstarch together in a microwavable bowl. Pour the cold water into the gelatin and cornstarch mixture. Stir well using a small whisk until the mixture is very well blended and there are no visible lumps.

Microwave the gelatin mixture on high about 2 minutes, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds, or until a thick clear gel forms. Remove cooked mixture from microwave. Slowly add 1 cup of the ice cream base into the gelatin. Stir well, making sure the gelatin and cornstarch are evenly distributed and there are no visible lumps. Pour back into the remaining ice cream base and mix well.

Pour into an electric ice cream maker and follow the directions for freezing.

Lisette is my niece who currently teaches the children of missionaries in Kenya. She has an easy and delicious recipe for apple dumplings. Here’s how she makes them:

Lisette’s Apple Dumplings

2 large apples

2 cans (10-ounce) crescent rolls

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)

1 12-ounce can Mountain Dew

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with Pam.

Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside (cut out the seeds, of course).

Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Then pour the Mountain Dew over them.  Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the oven until golden brown.

I visited Memphis last week (see previous post), and when we had dinner at the Blues City Cafe, people were buying their apple dumplings like crazy.  Our table was near the counter, and so I was able to watch the cook/chef put the dish together several times.  This is how he did it:

Apple Dumplings - Blues City Cafe Style

(1) Take a small cast iron skillet (one-serving size), place it in the oven until it is piping hot.

(2) Toss a scoop of butter in the skillet (probably a tablespoon) - it will sizzle and melt.

(3) Take an apple dumpling (They had them pre-made and packaged individually on a small paper plate covered with plastic wrap) and heat it in the microwave.  Then dump the dumpling in the skillet.

(4) Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the dumpling.

(5)  Drizzle caramel syrup all over it.

(6) Enjoy

They’d bring the apple dumplings to the table in the skillet with a little potholder fitted on the handle. They had a small wooden tray under the skillet.  They were selling like hotcakes. 

Two of the teachers in our group of ten ordered the dumplings and passed them around for everyone to taste.  I declined - don’t ask me why.  Everyone raved on and on about how delicious it was!  Even the next day some of them were still talking about it.  I was sorry I didn’t taste it myself.

The question now is:  How did they make the apple dumplings?  I don’t know their recipe, but here’s how I’ve made them in the past:

Cut up some apples - very thin slices, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon or apple pie spice.  Wrap a pie crust (or a flattened, uncooked canned biscuit) around about 1/4 cup of apple slices.  Crimp the edges to seal it.  Use a knife to make a couple vents in the top.  Dot with butter. Make however many apple dumplings you want.  One per serving.  Bake at 350 until golden brown.

Once they’re cooked you can add ice cream, caramel sauce - whatever sounds good.  I remember once I made apple dumplings with whole apples - coring them, filling the center with brown sugar and nuts, wrapping pastry around them and baking them.  They were good - but much too big for a single serving.

I’m writing this from my mother-in-law’s house.  I just ate a slice of cake that was out of this world. It’s a moist pound cake with caramel frosting.  Lillian, my MIL, agreed to give me the recipe.  Here it is:

MOIST POUND CAKE

3 cups plain flour

5 eggs

1 cup milk

2 3/4 cups sugar

2 sticks margarine, whipped

1 cup Crisco

2 tsp. vanilla or desired flavoring

Have ingredients at room temperature.  Cream together margarine, Crisco and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well;  add flour and milk alternately at low speed.  Add flavoring.  Grease and flour 3 nine-inch cake pans.  You can also cut waxed paper to fit in the bottom of the pans.  Pour batter into the pans, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.  Cool and remove from pans.

 

Caramel Frosting

3 cups sugar

1 T all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup evaporated milk

3/4 cup margarine

1 tsp vanilla

Put 1/2 cup of the sugar in a small pan and heat until it completely melts and caramelizes - stirring constantly.  Set aside.  Mix the rest of the ingredients in a heavy pan and bring to a boil.  Add the caramelized sugar to it.  Once it reaches a boil, boil for 5 minutes - stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and start mixing it with a mixer - up to 15 minutes until it’s the right consistency for frosting.

This cake and frosting are just about the most delicious things I’ve ever put in my mouth.

I’ve had this pecan pie recipe for probably 35 years.  It is so easy but so good.  I’ll be making several of these tomorrow to take to my mother’s and to mother-in-law’s for Thanksgiving. 

THE BEST SOUTHERN PECAN PIE

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

one unbaked pie crust

Beat the eggs.  Add the other ingredients (except pie crust - duh!)  Pour into the unbaked pie shell.  Bake 45 minutes at 300 degrees.  It is done when the center is firm.

You can add a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or some flaked coconut for a different twist.  However, in my opinion, plain pecan pie is the best.

I don’t want to brag, but I’m famous for my apple pies. Well,  famous within my family circle, anyway.  I have a secret that makes my apple pies better than any others I’ve ever tasted.  Not bragging - just stating a fact.  Here’s the recipe and the secret:

CAROL’S FAMOUS APPLE PIE

2 unbaked pie crusts

About 3-5 pounds of apples (get a variety of red and golden delicious, granny smith, gala - whatever is on sale.  Having a variety is important)

1 cup sugar (more or less depending on your taste)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons plain flour

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Apple pie spice - the more, the merrier

a few dabs of butter or margarine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Spray a deep dish pie pan with Pam and spread one of the pie crusts on the bottom.  Set aside.

Peel the apples and cut them into very thin slices and place in a large microwave safe bowl.  It will be a lot - but it will cook down.  Add the sugar, flour, cornstarch and spices to the apples and mix thoroughly.  Add about 1/2 cup water and stir again.

Place the bowl in the microwave and microwave on high for about 10-15 minutes, pausing occasionally to stir.  Pre-cooking the apples is my secret step.  It makes an enormous difference!

Pour the mixture into the prepared pie pan.  Dot with butter.  The apple mixture should reach the top of the pan. 

Place the second pie crust over the top, fold the top crust under the bottom one and crimp the edges with your fingers or with a fork to seal the two crusts together  Take a knife and cute a few X’s in the crust so that steam can escape. I have a cute apple cookie cutter, and I like to cut an apple shape out of extra pie crust dough to add to the top of the pie.  It gives it a pretty touch.

I usually dot the top with butter and sprinkle a little sugar on top to make it look even prettier, but that’s  optional

Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.  You will probably want to put a cookie sheet or aluminum foil under the pie pan before baking since the pie tends to bubble over during baking.

Serve the pie warm with a little vanilla ice cream, and you’ll swear you’ve died and gone to heaven.