Party Time...

I have been to parties that many of these ladies have thrown and have had some great food. Here are some of the recipes for a variety of wonderful parties, filled with good food and good stories.

Lib Wilhelm’s Cheese Slaw

This is a favorite from my Roanoke days. Great for a any kind of party.

1 lb. swiss cheese, coarsely shredded
1/2 c. banana peppers, minced
1/4 c. jalapeño pepper, minced
1 bunch green onions with tops, sliced
enough mayo to bind together
red cabbage, hollowed out

Mix all together and serve in the hollowed out cabbage head.

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And another Roanoke recipe ~

Baked Brie

1 whole brie (about 2 pounds)
2 sticks butter, melted
About 12 sheets phyllo pastry
Filling of choice (see notes below)

Cut the brie in half horizontally (Use a serrated knife, going just beyond
halfway with each cut, and rotating the brie as you go.) Spread the bottom
half with desired filling, and replace top.

Butter a baking sheet. Lay 5 or 6 sheets of phyllo on the baking sheet,
buttering each sheet with the melted butter as you go. Set the brie atop
the phyllo and fold the edges of the pastry up over the cheese.

Cover the top of the cheese with another 6 sheets of the pastry, brushing
each with butter. Tuck the sides of the pastry under the cheese. Brush
top and sides with butter.

Preheat over to 350. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand 30 minutes before serving.

Fillings: Sundried tomato pesto (you can buy at Lee & Edwards), along with a sprinking of pine nuts and capers.

Or homemade basil pesto and a mushroom duxelles.

Or sundried tomatoes that have been packed in oil and drained, and covered
with fresh basil leaves.

You may also use unsalted butter and filling the middle with fresh sliced strawberries.


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Lisa Hensley's Yummy Pecan Bars

Lisa was my nail tech in Roanoke, VA and is still a good friend and great cook. These Pecan Bars truly are yummy!
(Makes 1 9x13 pan)

* 2 cups flour
* 2 sticks butter or margarine (melted)
* 1/2 cup XXX sugar
Mix together. Put into a 9x13 pan (sprayed with oil) and spread out to cover the whole bottom. Bake @ 350° for 15 minutes.
* 1 can sweetened condensed milk
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 1 bag “Bit o’Brittle Almond Brittle Bits.”
Mix together and pur on top of the baked curst. Bake again for about 25 minutes. Cool and cut.

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Margaret's Gala Pecan Spread

* 1 - 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
* 1 jar dried beef, chopped
* 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
* 2-3 tbl. finely chopped green onions
* 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
* 1/8 tsp. white pepper
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Mix together all ingredients except pecans. Spread into a 9” pie plate (sprayed with oil). Sprinkle nuts on top. Bake @ 350° for about 20 minutes or until
bubbly.

Blue Cheese Bites

* 1 pkg. Pillsbury Hungry Jack Biscuits (10 count)
* 1 stick butter or margarine
* 1 4 oz. pkg. of crumbled blue cheese
Cut biscuits into quarters and place in the bottom of an oiled 9x13 pan. Melt the butter and blue cheese in microwave. Stir well and pour over the biscuits. Bake @ 375° for about 10 minutes or until brown. Serve immediately.

Texas Caviar

* 1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
* 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 can white shoe-peg corn, drained
* 1/2 each of a green, yellow, and red pepper, diced
* 1 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
* Bottled Italian dressing (I use Seven Seas Viva Italian)
* Tobasco to taste
Combine all ingredients. Use enough dressing to coat well (about 1/2 - 3/4 cup). Use the Tobasco if you like a hotter salsa. I serve with Tostitos flavored with a hint of lime.
Can be made a day ahead. Serve at room temperature.

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Cheryl's Crab Meltaways

My dear friend, Cheryl Gilliland, Roanoke, VA, gave me this recipe. Easy and so good!

* 1 pkg. English muffins, split
* 1 6 or 7 oz can crab meat
* 1 jar Old English Sharp Cheddar Spread (Kraft)
* 1 stick margarine (melted)
* 2 tbs. mayonnaise
* 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
* dash of Emeril’s Essence
Mix ingredients and spread on muffins. Cut each muffin into 4 pieces. Brown in 350° oven until bubbly. Serve hot. Note: Can be frozen before cooking.

This recipe is from Cheryl's daughter...

Greek Layered Dip
(from Meredith Holcomb Eckel, Richmond, VA)

1 (8 oz) container cream cheese w/chives & onions
1 (8 oz) container hummus
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 medium roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 (2 and 1/4 oz) can sliced ripe olives, drained
1 (4 oz) container crumbled feta cheese
4 medium green onions, chopped
pita chips or tortilla chips
In 10 inch pie plate or pan, spread cream cheese spread. Drop small spoonfuls of hummus evenly over cream cheese; spread evenly. Top with remaining ingredients in order listed, serving with the chips.


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Parkhill Family Birthday Celebration

My friend, Marilyn Parkhill from Champaign, IL, tells this story:

“On my birthday (Oct. 13th) in 1961, a special present arrived — our second child, a boy, came into the world. Two years later on Oct. 29th, another son was born. Needless to say, I began giving boy parties and gladly forgot my own birthday celebration. Years later, as we added more family, we discovered that two more members share October birthdays. October has become Parkhill birthday month with 5 of us born within an 8 day period. More recently, we celebrate the adults together in one big dinner. I often serve the following menu which is a combination of my mothers ham loaf and my mother-in-law’s raisin sauce and pecan pie recipes. The homemade apple sauce is one that just happened because my grandchildren, particularly the October birthday boy, laps up my applesauce as though it were candy. I have to make enough to send home with him for after school snacks. In our home, October is a busy month filled with special blessings.”


Menu

Ham load and raisin sauce
Twice-baked potatoes
Corn Pudding
Homemade applesauce
Pecan pie or birthday cake

Ham Loaf

1 1/2 lbs. ground ham
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 t. dry mustard

Mix all ingredients together well. Cover bottom of loaf pan with brown sugar, sprinkle with cloves, and moisten with vinegar. Bake in 350° oven for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until done.

Raisin Sauce for Ham Loaf

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup stuffed olive slices
1/2 box raisins
1 cup canned tomatoes
2 onions, diced
1 T. vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Place all ingredients in pan on the stove and simmer til the ingredients change color. Serve with the ham loaf.

Corn Pudding

5 fresh ears of corn (scored and cut off ears)
1/4 lb. butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 t. salt
1 T. flour
4 T. sugar

Cut corn and sauté in butter. Beat eggs and add along with milk and other ingredients. Bake in greased casserole dish at 350° for 30-40 minutes.

Pecan Pie

Bring to a boil 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup dark corn syrup

Add:
3 beaten eggs
3 T. butter
1 t. vanilla
chopped pecans

Bake at 400°-425° for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 300° for 35 minutes. The only tricky part of this is to make sure you all the syrup mixture very slowly to the egg mixture. I like a fuller pie, so I triple this recipe and put in 2 9” pie pans (cut down on butter to about 5 T. total). Begin baking as before, but add 10 minutes at the end (300° for 45 minutes).

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Leland Andrews was one of the first people Rich and I met when we first attended First Presbyterian Church in Champaign. She and I connected as fellow Southerners and I quickly learned that she is a very good cook. Here is one of Leland's stories and the recipes to go with it...

Summer Southern Porch Party
In Illinois
Leland Andrews

It all began when I wanted to contribute to our church Sunday Night Youth Club’s auction to raise money for a mission trip. Rather skeptically, I offered a Southern Porch Party and was surprised when at the auction two groups of ladies began bidding against each other. I ended up doing two parties when the losers asked if I’d do one for them if they paid the winning price… $350! That was $700 for the Youth Club!
Some time later, I offered a Southern Porch Party for the University of Illinois’ Japan House auction and it sold for $400! Apparently, a Ladies Summer Porch Party was unique and appealing enough to raise interest and money… instead of money and interest!
I’ve always loved cooking and entertaining in the familiar Southern style in which I grew up… vintage linens, silver, crystal, china, flowers, and recipes handed down plus some new ones. I added favors to each place setting… tiny soaps or sachets or lip-gloss caught up in an antique linen hankie, tied with a tiny satin ribbon and small artificial flower. The hankies had to have hand sewn, rolled edges, not machine stitched ones. There are still many to be found in antique or vintage clothing stores.
I suggested hats and gloves and skirts or dresses as attire to those attending. Since I have a collection of butter pats plates, and open salt cellars with spoons, I used these on the tables to add to the “genteel Southern atmosphere.” Ladies still love dressing up and going to lunch. It evokes a sense of return to a less hurried and hectic time.
Here is the menu for the Porch Party Luncheon…

Margaret’s Punch or Mint Juleps
Cheese Straws
Chutney Chicken Salad
Asparagus Bundles with Pimiento Strips
Tomato Aspic with Basil Mayonnaise
Cheese Grits
Buttermilk Biscuits
Sweetened and Unsweetened Ice Tea

Individual Meringues with
Vanilla Ice Cream and Fresh Peaches or
Strawberry Ice Cream with
Homemade Chocolate Sauce and Strawberries
Toasted Pecans
Demitasse Coffee or Coffee served in
China Cups and Saucers


Margaret Estes’ Punch

Cool, tangy, and not too sweet. Also, very easy!

1 – 46 oz. can pineapple juice
1 – 46 oz. can grapefruit juice
64 oz bottle of Fresca or Sprite

Pour ½ of each into punch bowl or mix equal amounts in a large pitcher. You can make an ice ring of Fresca or Sprite or use ice cubes. Serves 25.

Mint Juleps

Simple Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 ¼ cup water
40-50 mint leave
¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Cook sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Add mint leaves and lemon juice. Remove from heat and steep a while. Strain. Will keep several weeks in refrigerator. Makes one pint.

To make individual juleps, fill an 8 oz. glass with crushed ice. Pour in 1 ½ T. simple syrup, 2 jiggers bourbon, and mix well. Garnish with a mint sprig that has been dusted with powered sugar.


Cheese Straws

16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 ½ sticks margarine (not butter)
1 t. cayenne pepper
2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 T. salt
1 t. baking powder

Cream the margarine, add cheese and mix well. Sift the dry ingredients and mix again. Put all this into a food processor and process until all ingredients come together and form a ball.

Put dough into a cookie press with a star template and squeeze into long lines onto a cookie sheet. (Or they can be rolled out and cut into rounds or strips.)

Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes. Cut into 4 inch lengths and then cool. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Chutney Chicken Salad

6 cups roughly chopped cooked chicken
1 ½ cup finely chopped sweet onion (Vidalias are the best!)
1 ½ cup finely chopped celery
1 17 ½ oz. can apricots, drained
2 T. chutney (preferably Major Grey’s)
1 cup mayonnaise (Duke’s is the best, but if you can’t find that, use a good mayonnaise like Hellmans)
1 T. fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cup chopped toasted pecans (Georgia pecans are the best, of course!!)

Combine the chicken with the onion and celery. In a food processor, puree the apricots with the chutney. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice and process again. Fold the dressing into the chicken mixture. Fold in the pecans or sprinkle them on top when you serve.

Asparagus Bundles with Pimiento

You can use canned asparagus or fresh steamed spears. Place a few warm spears on each plate and place a strip of pimiento across them. You can also serve this chilled by placing the cooked spears in Italian dressing to marinade for a while before serving.

Tomato Aspic with Basil Mayonnaise

3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
¼ cup water
1 qt. tomato juice (not V-8)
2-3 T. lemon juice
1 T. grated onion
1 T. salt
1 T. white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
¼ t. cayenne pepper
½ cup sliced olives with pimientos
½ cup finely chopped celery

Soak gelatin in ½ cup water for 10 minutes. Oil a 1 qt. mold or 8 individual molds or ramekins. Set aside. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Liquefy gelatin over low heat and add to the tomato juice mixture. Stir well. Pour into the molds and chill.

BASIL MAYONNAISE

1 cup mayonnaise
3 T. finely chopped fresh basil
2 T. lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients together and chill. Can be poured over the aspic or served in a bowl on the side.

Cheese Grits

1 qt. whole milk (can use low fat, but whole milk tastes better!)
1 cup quick (not instant!) grits
½ stick butter + ¼ stick butter
4 oz. gruyere cheese, shredded
1 t. salt
1 t. white pepper
2/3 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese

Put milk in large pot and heat to nearly boiling. Add grits slowly, stirring all the time to avoid lumps. Cook until consistency of oatmeal and add ½ stick butter and shredded cheese. After the cheese melts, add the other ¼ stick butter. Pour into a 2 qt. casserole dish and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake at 350° for 45 min. – 1 hr. It should be just brown around the edges. This can be made ahead and even frozen. Just bake when ready to use.

(Note from Margaret on the above recipe… Don’t let anyone tell you that polenta and grits are the same thing. They are not! If you can’t find grits in the grocery store, try a specialty store or go online.)

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
¼ t. baking soda

Sift together the above ingredients. Cut in ½ cup Crisco (solid shortening). Mix until the mixture has a pea size consistency. Make a small well in this mixture and pour in 1 cup buttermilk (be sure to shake the carton well first!). Mix thoroughly, but lightly.
Sprinkle flour onto a bread board, or the kitchen counter, and turn out the dough. Knead lightly, adding flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Roll out with a floured rolling pin till ½ inch thick. Cut small biscuits with a round cookie cutter and place close together on a baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with vegetable oil. Bake at 425° for 20-22 min. or until lightly brown on top. Serve with butter and jam. Yumm!!

Toasted Pecan Halves

Spread about a pound of pecan halves on a cookie sheet. Dot with pats of butter. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Remove and toss pecans until all are coated with the butter. Return to oven for 8-10 more minutes. Watch that they don’t get too brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt while the pecans are still warm. Cool before serving. Store in airtight container for 2-3 weeks. Once they are served, they go fast, so you might want to put out just a few at a time!


Individual Meringues

4 egg whites at room temperature
Pinch of salt

Whip until frothy. Add ½ t cream of tartar and continue to whip until stiff and creamy. Dribble in 1 T. vinegar and gradually add 1 ¼ cup sugar while beating. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drop globs of the egg white mixture onto the paper… about 2-3 T. When all the whites are spooned out, make a small indentation in each meringue so that when they are done, there will be a well to hold the ice cream.
Bake the meringues at 250° for 1 hour or until pale tan. It might take 1 ½ hours. Serve with your choice of ice cream and topping.


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April 20, 2011

Here is a yummy recipe from my cousin, Deb, in Georgia. Thanks Deb!

Hot Pepper Raspberry Appetizer

1 cup shredded cheese (I use Cheddar)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup mayo (I use Hellman's)
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Mix together and refrigerate one hour.
Spread top with 1/2 jar Hot Pepper Raspberry Preserves
(Robert Rothchild is one brand and what I use)

Also I usually use Carr's water crackers so you
don't take away from the taste of the dip.