The Potluck Club—Takes the Cake (39 page)
He glanced over, then pulled the photo toward him for a look-see. It was a photo of Peggy and Matthew with all their children and their grandchild. Leigh’s eyes were closed tight as a drum, and she looked as though she were about to sneeze. He pulled the picture toward him, remembering the excitement from just a few months ago when she’d shown up pregnant and unmarried. It seemed like
a lifetime ago. Now, there she stood, next to her husband.
“Fortunately, you took two,” Britney interrupted his thoughts.
“And this one of the whole family is perfect.”
Clay went to place the picture back in its proper pile when something caught his eye. Something in the background. “Well, would you look at that,” he said.
“What?” Britney looked over.
Clay pointed to two figures in the background of the shot. “Right
there.”
“My, my,” Britney said. “My, my, my.”
Donna and Wade, hands locked together, her head on his shoulder, his lips pressed against the top of her head.
“Well, would you look at that,” Clay repeated.
“I wonder what it means,” Britney said.
Clay pursed his lips, then smiled. “I have no idea.”
Crushed Pineapple Fruitcake
¾ cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups golden raisins
½ cup red candied cherries
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup candied mixed fruit peel
3 tablespoons (melted) butter for later
Line the bottom of your angel food pan with parchment paper then spray pan and paper with Pam.
Cream butter then beat in sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in extract. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in raisins, cherries, pineapple, and mixed peel. Allow dough to sit in covered bowl overnight.
Bake at 300 degrees for 2½ hours. Place a pan of hot water on the lowest rack of your oven during baking. Remove cake from oven then brush with melted butter.
Lisa Leann’s Cook’s Notes
This fruitcake recipe has a little something extra, with the crushed pineapple. My mother used to make it every Christmas, and I don’t think I could go through the season without doing one up myself.
Pumpkin Dessert
36 large marshmallows
1 cup pumpkin (cooked or canned)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup cream (whipped)
1½ cups vanilla wafer crumbs (crushed)
½ cup brown sugar
⅛ cup butter (melted)
whipped cream for topping (optional)
6–8 candied or fresh cherries (optional)
Melt in a double boiler: marshmallows, canned pumpkin, cinnamon, salt. Mix thoroughly and let cool for 1 hour. Add 1 cup cream, whipped, and put the mixture in the refrigerator.
In separate bowl, mix vanilla wafer crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter together. Put half of crumb mixture in bottom of 9-by-9 pan.
Pour pumpkin filling over crust and cover with remaining crumbs. Chill until firm (overnight). Garnish each serving with whipped cream (sweetened) and top with a cherry.
Serves 6 to 8.
Vonnie’s Cook’s Notes
If you like pumpkin like I do but want to do something a little more creative than your average pumpkin pie, this dessert is for you. Now that I’m building memories with David, I think this is fast becoming one of his favorite homemade desserts.
Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake
I
NGREDIENTS FOR
S
TREUSEL
½ cup flour
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
I
NGREDIENTS FOR
C
OFFEE
C
AKE
Directions for Streusel:
Combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add diced butter and blend with your fingertips until crumbly. Set aside.
Directions for Coffee Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13 baking pan. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating well each time. Mix in sour cream and vanilla. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Fold in blueberries gently with a rubber spatula to create this very thick batter.
Scrape batter into greased pan. Spread batter evenly with the spatula. Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the top.
Bake until the top of the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45–50 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan about 10–15 minutes. Serve.
Goldie’s Cook’s Notes
This takes a little time to prepare, but it’s worth it in the end!
Larry’s Spice Apple Muffins
2 cups flour
½cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup chopped apples
Topping
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Sift flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and teaspoon cinnamon together. Combine egg, milk, and melted butter in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Beat well; fold in apples. Drop batter by spoonfuls into greased muffin tins, filling. full. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle over muffin batter. Bake at 425 degrees for 15–18 minutes.
Yield: 12 muffins.
Donna’s Cook’s Notes
I got this recipe out of Larry, and I have to admit I make it from time to time. If you like muffins as much as I do, give it a try.
Hamburger Quiche for Real Men
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1 can condensed tomato soup
½ cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 large fresh tomato, peeled
Sauté onion and green pepper in oil until soft. Add beef and brown well. Remove pan from heat. Combine soup, bread crumbs, ½cup cheese, egg, salt, and pepper. Add to meat and stir until well blended. Pour mixture into pie crust.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30–40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cut tomato in eighths and arrange in circle on top of pie. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and return to oven for 3–5 minutes.
Yield: 6–8 servings.
Goldie’s Cook’s Notes
Though Jack hates this (he says real men don’t eat quiche) I am here to tell you that it’s a wonderful feast for the mouth!
Million Dollar Pound Cake
2 cups butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs (large)
4 cups cake flour
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon butter or vanilla flavoring
½ teaspoon almond flavoring
Cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour alternately with milk. Add flavorings. Beat well. Bake in 10-inch greased and floured tube pan, in preheated oven at 275 degrees for 2–2½ hours or until done.
Lizzie’s Cook’s Notes
If this were any easier you’d have gone down to the bakery to purchase it! I’ve used this recipe for years as a quick dessert that’s delicious, and there’s never a crumb left over.
Meat and Potatoes in a Dish
3–6 medium potatoes
1½ pounds hamburger, cooked
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can tomato soup
Slice the potatoes in a greased 2-quart casserole dish and crumble hamburger on top. Sprinkle on half the salt and pepper. Slice onion and spread over hamburger. Spread kidney beans over onion. Cover all with the undiluted tomato soup. Add remaining salt and pepper. Bake for 1½ hour in 375-degree oven.
Yield: 6 servings.
Evangeline’s Cook’s Notes
Everyone in Summit View knows I hate to cook, but they also know how much I love this dish. Why? It’s simple and easy, that’s why. And it has everything in one dish!
Coach Dippel’s Favorite Mexican Casserole
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1½ pounds ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder or to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt
pepper
1 large can ranch style beans
1 pound Velveeta cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced tomatoes
12 soft tortillas
Sauté onion in butter. Add ground meat and brown. Season with chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Line 9-by-13 casserole dish with about 8 tortillas. Top with meat mixture, then beans. Slice cheese and lay on top of meat and beans. Mix soup and tomatoes and pour over mixture. Top with remaining tortillas. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more.
Serves 8.
Goldie’s Cook’s Notes
Okay, this one my husband loves. And I’ll admit that I love it too. It’s the perfect simple meal, whether you’re living through cold weather or having a summer’s picnic.
Sal’s Hot Tuna Melt
S
ANDWICH
Up to 12 slices of bread (buttered)
Up to 12 slices of Swiss cheese
Filling (see below)
F
ILLING
1 package onion soup mix
1 pint sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cans tuna fish, drained
small jar chopped pimento
Mix onion soup mix and sour cream together. Sprinkle lemon juice over drained tuna fish. Combine all ingredients. Spread on sandwiches. Add one slice of cheese on each sandwich. Toast sandwich with buttered side out in pan on medium heat. Flip sandwiches until both sides are browned and cheese is melted. Slice and serve warm.
Yield: 5–6 sandwiches.
Donna’s Cook’s Notes
No wonder this tastes so good. It’s loaded with fat. Though, unless you’re on a diet, I think it’s worth the calories. I think this would be good at parties, or even as a potato chip dip.
Lemon Pudding Bundt Cake
1 package Duncan Hines Deluxe Yellow Cake Mix
1 package Jell-O Instant Lemon Pudding (3¾ ounce)
½ cup Wesson oil
1 cup water
4 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon lemon extract
Put all ingredients in large mixing bowl and beat all together. (Use electric mixer and beat 5 minutes.) Put in well-greased and floured Bundt pan or in 2 loaf pans and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar after cake has cooled. (High altitude adjustment: add 3 tablespoons flour to mix and increase water to 1½ cup + 2 tablespoons. Bake at 375 degrees about 45 minutes or until done. Cool in pan 20 minutes.)
Vonnie’s Cook’s Notes
I was taken aback that Lisa Leann keeps a stash of emergency Lemon Pudding Bundt Cakes in her freezer, but I was so impressed with the flavor that I got her to give me the recipe. But a few words of advice: if you freeze this cake, use it within a couple of months. I don’t think it would taste nearly as good with freezer burn.
Summit Ridge’s Baked German Pancakes
with Almond Topping
P
ANCAKE
I
NGREDIENTS
3 eggs
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons butter, softened
A
LMOND
T
OPPING
I
NGREDIENTS
¼–½cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
With wire whisk or fork, beat eggs until blended. Sift flour, measure, and sift again with salt. Slowly add flour mixture to beaten eggs, beating constantly. Beat until mixture is smooth.
Next, add milk ( ¼ cup at a time), beating slightly after each addition. Gently beat in 2 tablespoons melted butter.
With 2 tablespoons softened butter, butter bottom and sides of a 9- or 10-inch heavy skillet. Pour batter into skillet and bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. When pancake has baked 15 minutes, quickly sprinkle center with almonds, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle generously with sugar. Return to oven and bake remaining 5 minutes.
Serve immediately with (optional) syrup of your choice.
Donna’s Cook’s Notes
This is exactly why I like coffee shops in remote places. You never know when one is going to have a specialty that made your visit worth the trip. If I’m ever out this way again, I’ll be sure to have seconds.
Spaghetti Pie
8 ounces spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons melted butter
