Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook
Page 3
11 and ¼ oz. can condensed green pea soup (I used
Campbell’s)
3 cups whole milk (or light cream, if you want it richer)
2-pound package salad shrimp, roughly chopped
½ cup sherry (optional)
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Trudi revised her original recipe. You CAN use split pea soup. If it has bits of ham in it, make sure you process it in a blender or food processor to smooth it out.
Mix the tomato soup and the green pea soup together. The green pea soup is lumpy, so use a blender if you have one.
Add the milk or light cream.
Heat the soups and the milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, while you thaw and chop the shrimp. When the mixture is warm, add the chopped shrimp and stir it in.
When the soup is heated thoroughly, add the sherry and serve.
Yield: Makes approximately six servings.
Lisa said this bisque is even better than the bisque she had at the very fancy, very expensive restaurant in Minneapolis where Herb took her last year on Valentine’s Day. Herb agreed, and not just because it’s a whole lot cheaper.
*LOBSTER BISQUE WITH SOUR CREAM AND RED CAVIAR
This soup is a variation of Trudi’s Shrimp Bisque and it’s just as easy to make. Everyone who’s ever tried it has been very impressed.
10 and ¾ oz. can condensed tomato soup (I used Campbell’s)
11 and ¼ oz. can condensed green pea soup (I used
Campbell’s)
3 cups whole milk (or light cream, if you want it richer)
2-pound package of frozen lobster meat, roughly chopped
½ cup sherry (optional)
8 ounces of sour cream
small jar of red caviar (or a sprinkling of paprika)
Mix the tomato soup and the green pea soup together. (I just found out that you CAN use split pea soup if you process it in a blender or a food processor until it’s smooth.)
Add the milk or light cream. (You can even use heavy cream if you want to be decadent.)
Heat the soups and the milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, while you thaw and chop the lobster. When the mixture is warm, add the chopped lobster and stir it in.
When the soup is heated thoroughly, you can “hold” it in a crockpot set on LOW for several hours if necessary.
Add the sherry right before you’re ready to serve your Lobster Bisque.
Dish up your soup and decorate each bowlful with a dollop of sour cream.
Sprinkle the sour cream with a bit of red caviar or sprinkle it with paprika and serve.
Yield: Makes approximately six servings.
“That was a lovely soup, Hannah,” Delores said as Hannah approached to remove her soup bowl.
“Thank you, Mother.”
“Will mine be like that?” she asked in a lower voice.
“Yes. The only difference is that you’ll be using shrimp and this is lobster.”
“Oh, good! Can I garnish mine the way you garnished yours?”
“Of course. The garnish is a matter of personal taste. Since I don’t like caviar, I usually garnish mine with sour cream and several ripe olive rings.”
“Isn’t this Marguerite and Clara Hollenbeck’s recipe for Mexican Hotdish?” Grandma Knudson asked, paging through the Quick and/or Easy Meals section of the thick binder that Hannah had given to each of her mother’s guests.
“That’s right.”
“It’s a wonderful recipe. Clara brought it to my Bible Study group and everyone enjoyed it. And that reminds me... she called me this morning. You met her niece Gladys the last time she was in town, didn’t you?”
“I think so,” Hannah said, trying to remember. “Isn’t she the niece that lives up in Duluth?”
“That’s Gladys. How about the rest of you? Does anyone know Gladys Hollenbeck?”
Almost everyone around the table nodded. Gladys had driven down to Lake Eden several times to visit her aunts.
“Didn’t she drive to California to a friend’s wedding last month?” Florence asked.
“Yes. All by herself. Gladys didn’t even have one of those lifesize male dolls that some women prop up in the passenger seat to fool everyone into thinking they’re not alone.”
“Marguerite told me she hoped that Gladys would meet a nice man in California and decide to stay there. The poor girl really hates the winters up in Duluth.”
“That’s exactly what happened,” Grandma Knudson informed them, and Hannah noticed that her eyes were twinkling the way they always did whenever she had a good story to tell.
“Is she going to marry him?” Bertie asked, clasping her hands.
“Yes.”
Edna Ferguson looked pleased. “I lived in Duluth for three years, and the cold wind blowing off Lake Superior never seemed to stop. This is wonderful for Gladys! Now she’ll be able to live in sunny California.”
“It’s wonderful, but she won’t be living in California.”
“She won’t?” Bertie looked puzzled.
“No, they’ll be moving. Gladys told Marguerite that he seemed to be really interested in hearing about her life here. It’s one of the reasons she fell in love with him. And now it turns out he was sincerely interested, but there was another reason he wanted to know more about Minnesota. He’d just accepted a job at the University of Minnesota in Duluth and they’ll be living up there!”
Quick and/or Easy Meals
AUNT KITTY’S COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES (POOR MAN’S BLINTZES)
2 cups cottage cheese
4 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup flour
Mix cottage cheese, eggs, salt and flour together in a small bowl. Let the mixture “rest” in the refrigerator for an hour (overnight is fine, too.)
Heat a nonstick griddle to 350 degrees F., or use a frying pan that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (The frying pan is ready when a drop of water sizzles and “dances” across the surface.)
Spoon pancake batter in pan or on griddle and fry until the bubbles on the surface of the pancake remain open. (You can check to see if the bottom side is done by lifting the edge with a spatula.) When the bottom side is a nice golden color, flip the pancake over and cook until the bottom color matches the top.
Place the finished pancakes on a plate, sprinkle artificial sweetener over the tops, and add sliced fruit of your choice.
FOR POOR MAN’S BLINTZES:
Mix up the pancakes as directed and fry them. When they’re done, spread each pancake with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Top with spoonful of jam, add a generous dollop of sour cream, and enjoy.
BREAKFAST OMELET
Do not preheat the oven – this breakfast dish needs to be refrigerated before it can be baked.
Hannah’s 1st Note: I didn’t have the heart to tell Michelle that this dish wasn’t technically an omelet. What’s in a name anyway? It’s like Shakespeare said, Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? – or in this case, as savory?
1 and ½ pounds skinless sausage links or breakfast
sausage patties
8 slices white bread (white, sourdough, French, country, etc.)
¾ pound grated cheddar cheese (the sharper the cheddar,
the better)
¼ cup grated onion
¼ cup finely chopped green peppers
6 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
¼ cup half-and-half, or cream
1 Tablespoon prepared mustard (I used stone ground)
1 can (10 and ¾ ounces) condensed cream of mushroom
soup, undiluted
¼ cup sherry6
1 can (5 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
Spray the inside of a 2-quart casserole dish with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray. A 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan will also work well for this recipe.
Cut the sausage links into thirds and sauté them over medium heat on the stovetop until they’re lightly browned. If you used pa
tties instead of links, cut each one into four parts and sauté them until they’re lightly browned.
While your sausage is browning, cut the crusts from the slices of bread. (You can either save the crusts to feed to the birds, or throw them away, your choice.) Cut the remaining bread into one-inch cubes. Toss them into the bottom of your casserole or cake pan.
Drain the fat from your sausage. Put the drained sausage on top of the bread cubes in the casserole. (Mother used to save the fat from sausage or bacon for Dad – he used it for frying eggs when he had one of his poker nights.)
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the sausage.
Sprinkle the grated onions over the cheese.
Sprinkle the chopped green peppers on top of the onions.
Whisk the eggs with the salt, milk, half-and-half or cream, and prepared mustard in a bowl by hand, or beat them with an electric mixer.
Pour the egg mixture over the top of the casserole, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.
(Michelle says that now you can sleep soundly because you know you’ve got breakfast almost ready to go in the morning.)
The next morning, 2 hours before you want to serve breakfast:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Take the casserole from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Place it on a baking sheet with sides, if you have it. A jellyroll pan will work beautifully.
Mix the condensed cream of mushroom soup, the sherry (or equivalent), and the drained sliced mushrooms in a mixing bowl.
Pour the mushroom mixture over the top of the casserole.
Bake the casserole for 1½ hours at 350 degrees F.
Remove the casserole from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes to set up before serving.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Michelle told me that she once used some of her roommate’s leftover champagne instead of the sherry and it was really good. I didn’t ask her how her underage roommate got the champagne in the first place.
FUNERAL HOTDISH (ANNIVERSARY HOTDISH)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
OR
Use an 18-quart electric roaster set to 350 degrees F.
Recipe courtesy of Joyce and the Swanville Funeral Committee
Hannah’s 1st Note: Joyce says this is easiest with three people helping: one person to chop and sauté the celery and onions, one person to brown the hamburger, and one person to cook the pasta and mix the sauce.
Start by spraying the inside of your pan or the electric roaster with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. (I used a great big disposable turkey roaster sprayed with Pam.)
1 bunch of celery (approximately 10 stalks)
3 large onions (We used four because we love onion)
6 pounds lean hamburger (We used 8 pounds because we
like it beefier)
2 two-pound boxes elbow macaroni (for a total of four
pounds – Joyce uses Creamettes Elbow Macaroni)
1 large can (50-ounces) Campbell’s tomato soup, undiluted
2 large cans (46-ounces each) Campbell’s tomato juice
1 large bottle ( 46-ounces) catsup (the Swanville Funeral
Committee uses Heinz Ketchup)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground is best,
of course)
Clean and chop the celery into bite-size pieces. Put them in a frying pan with a little butter and start cooking them over low heat, stirring occasionally.
Peel and chop the onions into bite-sized pieces. Add them to the frying pan with the celery and continue to cook them, stirring occasionally, until they’re translucent.
Brown the hamburger over medium heat. Be sure to “chop” it with a spoon or heat-resistant spatula so it browns in bite-size pieces. (Joyce and her committee do this in a pan in the oven.)
Drain the browned hamburger, and rinse off the fat by putting the meat in a strainer and spraying it with warm water. (We drained the hamburger, but we forgot to rinse it off with warm water – it was good anyway.)
Cook the elbow macaroni according to the directions on the box. DO NOT OVERCOOK. (Joyce’s committee does not salt the water, but we did.) Drain it and set it aside.
Combine the undiluted tomato soup, the tomato juice, and the catsup. Mix in the brown sugar and the pepper. (Joyce’s committee does this right in the electric roaster and then heats it before they add the other ingredients. We mixed up our sauce in the bottom of the disposable turkey roaster and didn’t heat it before we added the other ingredients.)
Add the cooked celery and onions to the sauce and stir them in.
Stir in the hamburger.
Add the cooked, drained macaroni and mix well.
Once everything is thoroughly mixed, cover the disposable roaster with heavy duty foil and put it into a 350 degree F. oven for 2 hours, stirring occasionally so that it heats evenly and doesn’t stick to the bottom. (If you used an electric roaster, put on the lid, turn it up to 350 degrees F., and cook it for 2 hours, stirring occasionally so that it heats evenly and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the roaster.)
Joyce’s Note: Joyce says to tell you that cooking the hotdish for 2 hours is mainly to blend the flavors since everything is precooked.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: When we made this for the family reunion, we sprinkled shredded Parmesan cheese on the top before we served it. Marge says if she ever makes it at home, she’s going to add pitted black olives to the sauce, because Herb and Jack like them so much. She’s also going to make garlic bread to go with it.
Yield: Joyce says this recipe will serve 75, but they always serve plenty of other side dishes with it. If you plan to use Funeral Hotdish as your only main course, I wouldn’t expect it to serve more than two dozen people, especially if they’re really hungry.
GRILLED CREAM CHEESE SANDWICHES
(Hannah Swensen’s Very Best Mistake)
For each sandwich you will need:
2 slices of bread (white, egg, whole wheat, take your pick)
1 package of chilled block cream cheese (not softened or
whipped)
Softened butter
Butter two slices of bread. Place one slice buttered side down on a piece of wax paper. Cut slices of cream cheese approximately ½ inch thick to cover the surface of the bread. Put the other slice of bread on top, buttered side up.
Preheat a frying pan on the stove. Using a spatula, place your sandwich in the pan. Fry it uncovered until the bottom turns golden brown. (You can test it by lifting it up just a bit with the spatula.) Flip the sandwich over and fry the other side until it’s golden brown. Remove the sandwich from the frying pan, cut it into four pieces with a sharp knife, arrange it on a plate, and serve it immediately.
This sandwich goes well with piping hot mugs of tomato soup.
You can turn this into a dessert sandwich by using slices of banana bread or date-nut bread and sprinkling the sandwich with a little powered sugar. If you really want to go whole hog, top it with a scoop of ice cream. It’s delicious that way!
*HANNAH’S CHICKEN SALAD
4 cups cubed chicken
4 peeled and chopped hard-boiled eggs.
½ cup crumbled cooked bacon (make your own or use real
crumbled bacon from a can – I used Hormel Premium
Real Crumbled Bacon)
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley (it’s better if it’s fresh, but
you can use dried parsley flakes if you don’t have fresh
on hand)
¼ cup grated carrots (for color and a bit of sweetness)
1 cup well-drained, pitted black olives
4 ounces cream cheese
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise (I used Best Foods, which is Hellmann’s
in some states)
½ teaspoon garlic powder (or ½ teaspoon freshly minced
garlic)
½ teaspoon onio
n powder (or 1 teaspoon freshly minced
onion)
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
curly leaf lettuce leaves, red lettuce leaves, butter lettuce
leaves, or spinach leaves (with the stems removed) to form
a bed for Hannah’s Chicken Salad
¼ cup salted sunflower nuts for a garnish7
Place the cubed chicken (approximately the size of bouillon cubes) in a large mixing bowl.
Peel and chop the hard-boiled eggs. A rough chop is fine. You want people to recognize them as eggs. Add them to the bowl with the chicken cubes.
Add the crumbled bacon, the parsley, the grated carrots, and the black olives to the bowl. Mix well.
Put the cream cheese in a small, microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds on HIGH to soften it. If it can be easily stirred with a fork, take it out of the microwave and add the sour cream and mayonnaise. Mix well.
If the cream cheese is too solid to stir, give it another 10 seconds or so on HIGH in the microwave before you add the other ingredients.
Stir in the garlic powder and onion powder.
Add the cream cheese mixture to the bowl with the chicken mixture and stir it all up. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and chill until ready to serve.
You can serve this salad on a large platter so that everyone can help themselves, or on individual plates. Line the platter or individual plates with lettuce leaves or spinach leaves and cover them with mounds of chicken salad.
Sprinkle the top of your salad with salted sunflower nuts, chopped salted cashews, or crushed potato chips to add crunch.