Raisin Pie

1 3/4 cups milk
3 eggs, separated
1 (3 5/8 ounce) box vanilla flavor pudding &
    pie filling mix (not instant)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 cups golden seedless raisins
1 (9-inch) baked pastry shell
6 tablespoons granulated sugar

In a small saucepan, combine milk and egg yolks; blend well. Stir in pudding mix. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract and allspice. Blend well. Fold in raisins; cool.

Turn mixture into pastry shell; chill thoroughly.

Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Spoon meringue over pie, making sure that meringue touches edge of crust. Bake at 450 degrees F for 4 to 5 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned.

Thick Milk Pie

3 eggs
1 cup molasses
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups thick sour milk
2 (9-inch) unbaked pie shells

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Beat eggs. Add molasses. Combine sugar, flour and baking soda and add to egg mixture. Add thick milk. Pour into unbaked pie shells. Bake for 10 minutes; then reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Sprinkle top of pie with cinnamon, if desired.

Waldorf Salad

3 Golden Delicious Apples, chopped
3 Red Delicious apples, chopped
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks or tidbits,
    drained, reserve juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoon cornstarch
Dash of salt
Small amount of chopped celery
White grapes, as many as you like
Chopped English walnuts
1/2 cup coconut

Put 1 cup pineapple juice, sugar, cornstarch and salt into a saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Set aside to cool.

Mix fruit and remaining ingredients together. Pour cooled dressing over fruit. Refrigerate.

Sugar Cream Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9-inch) lightly baked pie crust (recipe follows)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In medium saucepan, combine granulated sugar, salt and half-and-half. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in half-and-half mixture. Add butter. Cook mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 5 minutes, or until boiling and thickened. Simmer 1 minute. Stir in vanilla extract.

Pour mixture into prepared pie crust; sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake 20 minutes or until top of pie is golden.

Place on wire rack. Pie filling will be very loose, but will thicken on cooling. Cool completely before slicing. Makes 10 servings.

Pie Crust
3 cups flour
1 1/3 cups Crisco
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup ice water
1 egg
1 teaspoon vinegar

Use your fingers to crumble flour and shortening before adding other ingredients. Roll out crust on top of wax paper so it can be easily lifted and laid into ungreased pie plate.

If making ahead, freeze and then thaw before baking.

Simple Dressing (Amish)

1 whole loaf of bread
4 tablespoons chopped celery
1 medium onion
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken broth
3 eggs, well beaten

Toast bread, then cut into cubes.

Combine celery, onion, and seasonings. Bring broth to a boil and add to bread and celery. Add eggs last and stir well. Put into casserole dish and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Pickled Pigs' Feet (Souse)

4 pigs' feet
1 cup chopped pickles
2 cups vinegar
2 cups stock
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon broken cinnamon stick

Scrape and clean feet well and put on to boil in enough salt water to cover. Simmer for approximately 4 hours or until meat separates from bones.

Mix stock in which meat was cooked with vinegar, salt, pepper and spices. Bring to the boiling point, and hold for 30 minutes.

Strain liquid to remove spices.

Place pieces of meat and chopped pickle in a flat dish or stone jar and pour the sour liquid over it. Chill in refrigerator until perfectly cold. Slice and serve.

Salt Rising Bread

2 1/2 cups potatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 quart boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon shortening, melted
11 cups flour

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt and the cornmeal over potatoes. Add boiling water and stir until salt has dissolved. Cover and keep warm from noon to the following morning.

Drain off liquid into a large bowl. Add the baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and 5 cups flour to the liquid. Stir until ingredients are well blended. This sponge should be the consistency of cake batter. Set mixture in a warm place, and let rise until light and full of bubbles. This requires about 1 1/2 hours.

Scald milk and cool to lukewarm. Add shortening. Add milk and remaining flour to sponge. Knead for 10 to 12 minutes and shape into loaves. Makes 3 medium-size loaves. Let rise until light - about 1 1/2 hours.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

Walnut Kisses

1 pound walnuts
2 cups granulated sugar
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until blended. Sift flour lightly over beaten whites and fold in with a wire whisk. Blend in vanilla extract and nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Yields 6 dozen small cookies.

Beef Liver Creole

1 pound beef liver
Flour
3 tablespoons hot butter or drippings
1 1/4 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
1/2 cup diced celery
1 thinly-sliced green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
Flour

Cut beef liver into thin slices and dust slices lightly with flour. Melt butter or drippings, then brown the liver. Add onions, tomatoes, celery, green bell pepper, salt and cayenne. Cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes. Drain, then thicken the liquid with flour. Add the liver and vegetables. Simmer 2 minutes longer.

Serve with rice or noodles.

Alligator Etouffee

2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 can tomatoes
1 pound alligator meat, cut in thin strips
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, minced
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper

Saut? onions, garlic and celery in butter until soft. Add tomatoes and simmer for twenty minutes in covered iron pot.

Add alligator meat and let cook over low heat until tender, about 1 hour. If gravy is too thick, add a little hot water. Serve over rice.

Al Copeland's Basic Cajun Jambalaya

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pound pickled pork, diced
1 pound smoked ham, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
4 cups beef or chicken stock or hot water
2 cups rice
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste

In large saucepan with lid, melt butter with oil. Add onions and pork and saut? until onions are soft. Add ham, garlic, thyme and parsley and saut? 5 minutes. Add sausage and cook until browned. Stir in stock and bring to boil. Add rice, bay leaf and cayenne. Return to boil and cover. Simmer over very low heat 30 to 45 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to see if all liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. If necessary, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more water if liquid boils away before rice is cooked.

Serves 8.

Blackened Redfish

The fish fillets must be no thicker than 1/2 inch. You MUST use a solid cast iron skillet. Be forewarned that the cooking process will create great clouds of smoke. Use only dried herbs in this recipe.

If you use salmon, substitute dill weed for the thyme in the butter sauce.

6 redfish fillets, about 1/2 inch thick, skinned
2 1/2 cups unsalted butter or margarine
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons red (cayenne) pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf thyme
Curly parsley sprigs
Lemon wedges

Place fish fillets on a cutting board; trim off any thin edges and very thin tip of tail. If left on, these thin areas will char and break away. Pat fillets dry with paper towels; cover and refrigerate until ready to cook. The butter sauce adheres better to cold fillets.

In a heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; add lemon juice, cayenne, salt, black pepper and thyme. Stir to blend seasonings; cool to lukewarm.

Place an empty 10-inch cast iron skillet over HIGH heat until bottom has a definite white haze and begins to smoke slightly. Remove fish from refrigerator; dip 1 fillet in warm butter sauce, coating well. Place fish in hot skillet, taking care that spits and spatters do not burn you. The fish will sear and cook almost immediately. Turn fillet over; blacken other side. Repeat with remaining fillets, cooking no more than 2 at a time. Reserve remaining butter sauce.

As fillets are cooked, place them on individual plates; keep warm. Remove and discard any accumulated butter sauce and charred bits between batches. When all fish have been cooked, quickly remove skillet from heat; discard any accumulated butter sauce and charred bits. Immediately place empty skillet back on heat. Add reserved butter sauce; carefully swirl skillet 5 or 6 times to blacken butter. Remove pan from heat; drizzle butter over each fillet.

Garnish with parsley sprigs and lemon wedges.

Serve hot.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Black-Eyed Jambalaya

2 pounds ground beef
2 cans black-eyed peas, drained
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 hot pepper, diced
8 strips bacon, divided
3 cups cooked rice

Brown ground beef, onion, bell pepper and hot pepper; add small amount of water as it starts to fry. When meat is brown, add black-eyed peas. Cook beef and peas about 10 minutes.

Add cooked rice; mix well. Put mixture in baking dish. Fry 5 bacon strips extra dry; crumble on top of jambalaya. Place remaining bacon (3 strips) on top of casserole. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes.

Alligator Sauce Piquante

This is a Cajun recipe which makes a thick stew which is traditionally served over rice.

3 pounds alligator meat*
Dollop of bottled steak sauce
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 large onions, peeled and chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped scallions
8 ribs celery, chopped
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup water
Salt (optional)
Hot cooked rice

Chop alligator meat into small strips; add a dollop of steak sauce, to coat. Heat some of the shortening in a large saucepot or Dutch oven; add alligator and brown. Remove meat; set aside.

Add remaining shortening and flour; mix well. add onion, green pepper, scallion and celery; saut? slowly until vegetables are tender. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste; mix well. Add cayenne pepper and water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Stir in reserved alligator meat. Cook 1 hour, or until meat is tender. Add salt to taste.

Serve over cooked rice.

NOTE: Any fowl or seafood can be used in place of the alligator meat.

Baked Shrimp Creole

Posted by Cookin Dad at recipegoldmine.com May 17, 2001

Source: Mary in Las Vegas Member posted 02-28-2001 07:27 AM  - from The Reynolds Kitchen

Shrimp Creole is nothing new to me, but I have never made it baked. We tried this a couple of weeks ago and it was really good! Everyone in the family loved it.

The only thing I did differently in this recipe is make my own Creole spice mixture because it is unavailable here in Taiwan. I actually brought back a bottle of it a few years ago, but I discovered a while back that it had gone bad (yuck!). Thanks for a delicious recipe!

P.S. I also suggest adding extra shrimp to this recipe like you did. Yummy, yummy!

4 sheets Reynolds Heavy Duty Aluminum
    Foil (12 x 18 inches each)
3 cups cooked rice
1 (14.5 ounce) can garlic and onion diced tomatoes
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
2 to 3 teaspoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F or grill to medium-high. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine rice, tomatoes, green pepper, celery, onion, Creole seasoning, brown sugar and oregano. Stir in shrimp.

Center one-fourth of mixture on each sheet of aluminum foil. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal package, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Repeat to make four packets.

Bake 14 to 16 minutes on a cookie sheet in oven or grill 8 to 10 minutes in covered grill.

Serves 4.