Cabbie’s Cooking

Last summer I picked blueberries with some other members of my family and froze about 14 pints of them.  Throughout the year I’ve used a pint here and there to make blueberry cobbler.  But I still had 7 or 8 pints  in the freezer.  What to do with them?  Sunday afternoon I decided to continue with my current canning craze and make jam out of them.  Blueberry-orange jam, to be exact.  It’s worth the trouble.  Here’s the recipe:

4 cups mashed blueberries

1 1/2  Tablespoons finely grated orange peel

1/4 cup orange juice

1 package powdered pectin (1.75 oz.)

4 cups sugar

I used a potato masher to mash the blueberries but soon decided that was too slow.  I got an electic hand blender (one of those wand-looking things), and that worked real well.  I measured 4 cups of coarsely blended blueberries into a large pot.  I added the orange peel, orange juice and pectin and brought it to a boil.  I then added the sugar, stirred it, brought it back to a rolling boil and boiled it for another three or four minutes.  Meanwhile in another very large pot I had boiled the jars and lids.  I used 8-ounce and 4-ounce decorative jars.  I ladled the jam into the jars, wiped the rims of the jars and put on the lids.  It made a LOT - next year I’ll do half that.  I then put the jars back into the boiling water and boiled them.  The directions call for 10 minutes of boiling.  I went overboard so I know for certain that everything is sterilized and well sealed and safe to eat.  So I boiled the sealed jars for about 30 minutes.  Folks, that jam is delicious.  The orange kick added to the blueberries is phenomenal. 

P.S. Don’t want to deal with sterilizing jars?  Just wash the jars well, fill with the jam mixture, leaving a half inch at the top, seal, and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours to set.  Them place in freezer until ready to use.

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.

Last Friday we had the regular monthly meeting of reading specialists in our school district.  We had a potluck lunch, and Gail, one of the other RS, brought this Grape Salad.  My niece had made it at Thanksgiving, and I wanted to get the recipe.  Gail sent it to me this morning. So here it is.  It’s quite good, although I have to admit I’d rather have plain grapes myself.

Grape Salad

2 lbs. green seedless grapes

2 lbs. red seedless grapes

1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. sour cream

½ cup white sugar

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup brown sugar

Wash and pat dry the grapes - leave them whole.  Beat cream cheese until soft. Add sour cream and white sugar, beat until creamy. Gently fold in grapes and cheddar cheese. Pour into large serving dish or bowl. Stir together pecans and brown sugar. Sprinkle over grape mixture; refrigerate overnight.

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.

When I was preparing dinner tonight, I noticed that the bananas I’d bought last week were still in the fruit tray - and decidedly over-ripe.  I immediately thought, “Yea!  I’ll make some banana bread!”  So tomorrow afternoon, I will use the following recipe to make the best banana bread I’ve ever tasted.  I got this recipe from my niece, Naomi.

Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup margarine

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour milk (add 1 tsp. white vinegar to fresh milk and let it stand 10 minutes)

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups flour

4 mashed over ripe bananas

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Cream sugar and margarine.  Then add eggs, milk, soda, flour and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add bananas and nuts.  Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans and let stand 20 minutes. 

Bake at 325 for 50 minutes.  Check doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center.  If the toothpick comes out clean, the banana bread is done.

Options:  You can use 1 1/2 cups applesauce instead of the bananas.  You can also use crushed pineapple, crushed cranberries or almost any soft fruit.