Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking Part 5

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Eat yourself full of what we got"]

Sc.r.a.pPLE

lb. chopped raw meat (beef or pork) 1 teaspoons salt ? teaspoon pepper 1 cup corn meal 1 medium onion chopped 1 qts. water

Brown onion slowly in a little fat. Add meat, seasoning and water. Cook at simmering point 20 minutes. Add to corn meal and boil for 1 hour.

Turn into a mold, cool, cut in slices and fry in fat until brown. Serve with gravy or tomato sauce.

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH CHICKEN AND OYSTER PIE

1 stewing chicken 1 pt. oysters lb. b.u.t.ter salt and pepper a little flour pastry crust

Stew chicken until tender, season with lb. b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper.

Line deep dish with pastry crust. Pour in the stewed chicken and cover loosely with a crust in the center of which a hole the size of a tea cup has been cut. Prepare separately 1 pt. oysters, heating the liquor with a little flour and water. Season with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of b.u.t.ter. When it comes to a boil, pour over oysters. 20 minutes before pie is done, lift the top crust and put the oyster mixture in.

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Vegetable Dishes

LANCASTER COUNTY BAKED CORN

To 1 cup of dried corn (ground in food chopper) pour on 2 cups of hot milk and let stand about an hour. Then add 2 beaten eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt to taste. Bake hour in oven of 350 to 360 degrees.

SEVEN-MINUTE CABBAGE

2 cups milk 2 teaspoons flour salt and pepper 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 2 cups chopped cabbage

Heat the milk to boiling. Add b.u.t.ter and the cabbage. Cook seven minutes. Thicken with the flour, mixed with a little cold water.

SCALLOPED SWEET POTATOES _and_ APPLES

6 medium-sized sweet potatoes cup brown sugar 1 cups sliced apples 4 tblsp. b.u.t.ter tsp. salt 1 tsp. mace

Boil sweet potatoes until tender. Slice in inch pieces. b.u.t.ter baking dish and put a layer of sweet potatoes in bottom, then a layer of apples. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and mace, and dot with b.u.t.ter. Repeat until dish is filled, having the top layer of apples. Bake in moderate oven (350-f) for 50 minutes.

SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES

1 pt. mashed sweet potatoes 1 tblsp. b.u.t.ter 1 tsp. salt 1 tblsp. sugar 1 egg white bread crumbs

Mash sweet potatoes very fine and add salt, sugar and melted b.u.t.ter.

Shape into croquette rolls or patties and chill in the refrigerator for a half hour. Then roll in bread crumbs, dip in the egg white, slightly beaten, and in the crumbs again. Bake in a shallow, greased baking dish for 20 minutes, in hot oven (400-f). For a modern variation of this old recipe, place a marshmallow in the center of each with the potato mixture coating it completely.

SCHNITZEL BEANS

4 slices bacon 1 qt. string beans 3 medium onions, sliced 2 cups tomatoes, chopped 1 tsp. salt tsp. pepper 1 cup hot water

Dice the bacon and fry until crisp. Slice the onions and fry until soft.

Cut the beans into small (1-inch) pieces and brown them slightly with the bacon and onions. Add the tomatoes, seasoning and boiling water.

Cover and cook very slowly until beans are tender. Add water if necessary, so there will be a little sauce to serve with the beans.

FRIED TOMATOES

4 tomatoes 3 tblsp. hot fat and b.u.t.ter 2 tblsp. brown sugar Flour cup milk salt and pepper

Cut large, solid, ripe tomatoes in inch slices. Dredge thickly with flour. Fry quickly in 2 tablespoons of hot drippings or b.u.t.ter, browning well on both sides. Remove to serving platter, sprinkle with salt, pepper and brown sugar. Keep warm. Add 1 tablespoon of b.u.t.ter to the pan fryings and blend in a tablespoon of flour. Add the milk and cook, stirring constantly. It should be about the consistency of thick cream.

Pour it over the tomatoes and serve.

PARSNIP PATTIES

6 or 7 parsnips 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter or shortening 2 eggs cup bread crumbs, dry 1 teaspoon sugar teaspoon salt little pepper milk

Boil parsnips in salted water. When soft, peel and remove the core then mash. Add shortening, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, sugar and 1 egg and the white of the other, beaten. Mix well and form into cakes. Beat the remaining egg yolk with a little milk added. Dip the cakes into the egg, roll in corn meal or bread crumbs and fry to a nice brown.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

6 potatoes, sliced 1 onion, chopped 2 tsp. salt pepper 3 tblsp. b.u.t.ter 2 tblsp. flour 2 cups hot milk cup grated cheese

Melt b.u.t.ter in double boiler or sauce pan. Add flour, seasoning and stir smooth. Slowly add the hot milk stirring constantly. When it thickens melt the grated cheese in the sauce. Into a b.u.t.tered baking dish or ca.s.serole put layers of the sliced potatoes, onions and cheese sauce, repeating until all ingredients are used. Bake in a moderate oven (350-f) for 1 hour.

FRIED EGG PLANT

Pare egg plant and cut in slices inch thick. Soak slices in salt water for about an hour. Drain and wipe dry. Dip slices in beaten egg and roll in fine bread or cracker crumbs. Fry in hot fat (or deep fat) until well browned on both sides. Serve with catsup or tomato sauce.

SWEET _and_ SOUR BEETS

3 cups beets, diced 1 cup beet water 1 tblsp. sugar cup vinegar 2 tsp. b.u.t.ter 1 tblsp. corn starch

Cut off beet tops leaving 2 inches of the stems. Clean well, place in pot and cover with boiling water. Cook until tender, slip off the outer skins and dice. Strain and save 1 cup of the water in which beets were cooked. Add sugar, vinegar and b.u.t.ter. Thicken with 1 tablespoon of corn starch and cook to the consistency of cream. Add the diced beets, salt and pepper and heat.