Nothing funny about feldspar

Based on a recipe I found in an old cookbook (The Modern Priscilla), but of course heavily modified.

• 1½ cups stale breadcrumbs
• 3 cups milk (I used 1 cup cream + 2 cups 2%)

Scald milk, mix with breadcrumbs until the crumbs get soft.

• 2 ounces chocolate (I used unsweet + bittersweet), melted
• ½ cup brown sugar

Mix the sugar into the chocolate, let cool a bit.

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• dash salt

Lightly beat the eggs, and stir in the vanilla, salt and spices.

Blend eggs into the milk + crumbs mixture, then stir in the chocolate/sugar mixture (I used a whisk).

Pour into well-buttered 2 quart casserole and bake at 325°F for 45 minutes.

Serve warm.

Result: Yum! I might put more spices in next time, but it was quite tasty.

(I’d call this Chicken Paprikash, but it doesn’t seem appropriate)

• A package of chicken thighs (about 1.5-2 lbs)
• An onion, chopped
• 1½ tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons flour
• salt and pepper
• A cup of chicken stock
• A cup of crème fraîche (it’s what we had)

Brown the onion in butter, then add the chicken and brown it. Take the chicken out, sprinkle the paprika, flour, salt & pepper on the onions and cook a little. Put the chicken back in the pan, add the stock, cover well, and turn the heat down and let it cook a while until the chicken is done. Take it off the heat, remove the chicken, stir in the crème fraîche. Serve with egg noodles.

Not exactly a scientific recipe, but I was working from Plagioclase’s mother’s memory, and a couple of old cookbooks. No internet searches this time!

It was ok, but kinda bland and brown. Browner and blander than we expected. Plagioclase’s mother said she never used more than a tablespoon of paprika, so I doubled her amount, and it still wasn’t enough. It could also be that I added too much flour, or overcooked everything, or really should have used sour cream.

So, for next time: less flour, more paprika, more salt and pepper, shorter onion and chicken browning time, sour cream. And put it on spätzle.

It’s very cool here today, so I’m thinking Autumnal thoughts… Plagioclase mixed this up last night, and I’ve been eating it all day.

2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
1 egg
1/2 cup pecans (optional)

Mix the dry ingredients together; mix the wet ingredients together. Mix the mixtures (but don’t overwork). Bake in a loaf pan at 400°F for 20 minutes, then turn the oven to 350°F and bake for about another 15 minutes (clean toothpick check). Turn out onto the cooling rack.

Result: a dryish spicy pumpkin bread, great with coffee or tea. I like this precisely because it’s not moist — sometimes quick breads feel like they’re not cooked through because they’re so damp. You could make muffins out of this too, I haven’t so I don’t know what the time would be, but I’d start checking after the first 15 minutes or so.

(heavily adapted from a recipe I got from the Bisquick website)

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 quart milk
2 cups cornbread crumbs (stale is best; it’s a bit less than one box of prepared Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix — ours was baked in a cast-iron skillet and so had a sweet crispy crust)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Break up the chocolate, and put it into a pan with the milk. Heat milk until it scalds and the chocolate melts¹. Stir until smooth. Mix in the cornbread crumbs and set aside to cool to lukewarm. Add the rest of the ingredients — mix well and pour into the buttered dish. Bake for 50 minutes or so until it sets.

Serve warm.

Result: a not-too-sweet gritty chocolatety dessert: a little bit like damp cake, definitely different from the smooth puddings or custards you’d expect from the name. And none of those bread-cubes-with-raisins things, either.

(based on the one from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, but with more chocolate, different bread and added cinnamon…)

1. the original recipe calls for scalded milk, then you melt the choc. in it, but I’m usually in a hurry…↩

Neither Plagioclase nor I am a big fan of unadulterated hard-boiled eggs, but give ‘em some vinegar or mustard, and they’re ok! When we lived in south-central Pennsylvania, I had the opportunity to try Red Beet Eggs. These are pickled eggs. Like all such “folk” recipes, everyone has their own method, and since I didn’t keep the version I learned when I lived there, I went to the ‘net and amalgammed a recipe.

Here’s what I did:

Hard cook a dozen large eggs, let cool and peel. I don’t know about you, but I can never get every egg to peel properly. Usually, there’s one or two that look like they’ve been nibbled by ducks. But no matter, the color hides many imperfections.

Thinly slice an onion into half-rings. I used a small one, but a medium one would be ok, too.

Open a can (14-16 oz? not the smallest one) of whole beets, and drain the liquid into a saucepan. Next time I’ll probably use two cans for a dozen eggs. Bring the liquid to boil with about 1/4 cup of sugar. More sugar wouldn’t be a bad thing (for reference: I prefer sweet pickles to dill). Throw in a bunch (10? 20?) of whole black peppercorns. Some people also put in a cinnamon stick. I didn’t this time, but I may next time. When the sugar’s dissolved, turn off the heat. When it cools a little bit, add an equal amount of vinegar (I’ve used white, but I prefer cider) to the beet juice, and mix together. Taste it. Sweet enough? Adjust as needed.

Into a clean jar, place some onions, some beets and some eggs. Keep layering until you run out of stuff. Pour the beet juice/vinegar over the stuff in the jar so it covers everything. If there’s not enough liquid, add vinegar and water (50-50) until the eggs are covered. Stir. I used a big jar, so I had room to get a spoon in it. Cover tightly and put in the refrigerator.

Wait. The longer you wait, the pinker the eggs get, and the more intense the flavor. If you want a very pretty salad, pick out an egg after about 3 days, slice it in half — there’s the clean yellow, a largish white field, and a ring of magenta around the edge — and serve it on fresh spinach. Add some of the onion and/or beets for additional color.

Hmm… I think it’s time for lunch!