My Grandmother's Recipe Box

Finally, I made a recipe from the box that someone actually remembered Mom making before.    Mom would be what I called my grandmother  not to be confused with my Mom.  I don't know why but it was never confusing as to who I was referring to when I said it to me or to Mom and Mom.  So this recipe is for lemon pie though the recipe for the pie crust and for the meringue was not actually included on the card so I had to do those on my own.                                                                 The lemon custard was very sweet and did not set up like my grandmothers did.   I would probably adjust the recipe if I made it aga...

Today was my grandmother's birthday and she would have been 89.   I really should be making the angel food cake with the birthday person's choice of either chocolate or pink whipped cream.   It was the birthday cake at almost everyone's birthday party (except mine because I did not like it).  But instead I pulled out this recipe for Sour Cream Cherry Coffee Cake.  I remember making a recipe like this one but with cherry pie filling and not preserves so I was curious about the cake.  1 stick unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 cup fat free sour cream 2 cups flour High Altitude ass 2T 1t baking soda 1t baking bpowder 1T lemon zest 1/4 t salt 1T vanilla 1/2 best quality cherry preserves    Preheat oven to 350.  Butter two 8" square pans. In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until well combined.  Add eggs one at a time, beat well.   Add sour cream and mix well.   In small bowl, mix flour, pow...

This is the barbecue sauce that we had at many family picnics on Corliss Ave.    I have a distinct memory of this sauce. but I don't know if it is a mish mash of several memories or if it is memory of one specific time.     The charcoal grill was set up in the driveway of 190 Corliss and the chicken pieces that had been marinating in the sauce were ready to go on the grill.    When the coals began to glow,  Papa (in a pair of cutoff jean shorts), put the pieces on the grill and they sizzled and smoked.     He then cooked, turned and mopped the pieces with more sauce until they were just the right amount of char and still juicy.   And I am thinking he did this with a beer in one hand.   I made this sauce and cooked some chicken a few weeks ago, but something was just missing.     

It has been a little hot for baking lately so there has been a little hiatus in trying recipes from the box.     I got some great honey from the farmers market a couple of weeks ago and had been wondering what I was going to use it in.    Then I saw this recipe in the box for Honey Drops.      I don't recall having these before, but the recipe looks well used so  they must have been made a time or two.          The recipe makes a nice dough that is easy to roll into balls for baking. Though I was not sure that this was the prescribed method since this like many of the recipes listed only ingredients and no directions.    But they baked up just right.  You have to make the balls on the smaller side since you are putting them together in sandwich fashion.   I suppose you could make a giant sandwich cookie, but I prefer the smaller size.   Sin...

 I am not really sure what was going on with this recipe, but that is a whole lot of potatoes and cheese.  I believe that the cheese quantity is for 9 pounds grated.     Who doesn't like potatoes and cheese ?     

This recipe I do remember having on Corliss Ave.  The refrigerator dough allows for fresh cookies for a few days if you just bake a dozen or so at a time       The recipe makes two logs which ends up making about 48 cookies.   However, I think only about 1/2 of the cookies made it to the oven....   since we used to slice them off from the fridge and eat the raw cookie dough before they could be cooked.    I don't remember if we were allowed to do this or if we just snuck a slice of the raw dough.  I am not recommending eating the raw dough since it has eggs in it, but if you are so inclined. The finished product is a chewy yet crisp oatmeal cookie.   I added a touch of cinnamon, vanilla and salt to the recipe. 

I am absolutely positive that these will not taste exactly the same even though I am using the recipe written out in my grandmother's hand.          They will not taste the same because my Papa did not get the little sizzler steaks from the Publix butcher where he worked after my grandparent's retired to Florida.  They will not taste the same because I am not making them on my grandparent's little gas grill.   They will not taste the same because I never found out what "lemon juice (?)" means. They will not taste the same because my grandmother did not make them and my grandfather did not grill them.  They will not taste the same because I can only hear in my mind, my grandmother saying "Well, these turned out pretty good".     And mostly they will not taste the same because I am not eating them at the table with my "Mom and Papa".     But I will have the memories. ...