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Welcome to Spike's & Jamie's "Spike’s Good Eatin’ Recipe Collection Archives"!!  Here we store all the back issues of the original "Spike’s Good Eatin’ Recipe Collection" and of the "Spike’s Jewish Good Eatin’ Recipe Collection". These newsletters were written by Spike (Jann McCormick) and published by Jamie from 2000 until Spike's death in 2008.  Spike loved to cook and share her cooking with those she loved.  Sharing her recipes was the next best thing.

[Spike’s Good Eatin’ Recipe Collection]   [Spike’s Jewish Good Eatin’ Recipes] 

August 5, 2005
from: Spike's and Jamie's Recipe Collection    
http://www.spike-jamie.com

Many of these recipes have not yet been added to the recipe web site, so you are getting a "sneak peek" of future additions. We hope you enjoy these recipes. Spike's comments are in []Brackets[].

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[] Here it is August already. I see that everybody is looking for chilled soups and for salads that are hearty enough to be an entrée or a whole meal. Not I. I am looking for real food. Food that is comforting, tasty, and so filling that I need a nap after dinner. I can put my convection oven on the back porch, and not worry about overheating the kitchen. []

MEXICAN LASAGNA

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
16 ounces nonfat sour cream
6 scallions, chopped
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
6 to 7 flour tortillas (8-inch)
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can (15.5 ounces) corn, drained
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
Sliced black olives, sliced scallions

Heat oven to 350F. Mix chili, cumin, salt, pepper, tomatoes in bowl. Mix sour cream, scallions, chilies in second bowl.

Spread 1/2 cup tomato mixture in 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Arrange 2 tortillas to cover bottom; use pieces from another tortilla to fit corners if needed. Top with half the sour cream mixture, half the chicken, half the corn, 1 cup tomato mixture, one-third cheese. Repeat layering, ending with tortillas, tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining cheese around edge.

Bake in 350F oven 35 minutes, until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes.
Garnish with olives and scallions.

Yield: 12 servings.

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[] Remember the little cookies they used to serve with ice cream sundaes? I think they were there not so much for their flavor (they didn’t have much) as for the opportunity to warm your palate and prevent brain freeze. And they were pretty. They don’t cost much at the supermarket, but they taste like paper. These have a subtle flavor and they are fun. []

CREAM WAFERS

For the cookies:
1/2 lb butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
Granulated sugar

For the filling:
3/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
Food coloring (optional)

To make the cookies, mix the butter, cream, and flour thoroughly. Chill for 1 hour before rolling to a thickness of 1/8 inch on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 1 1/2-inch rounds and coat both sides with granulated sugar. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and prick each cookie 4 times with the tines of a fork. Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 7 to 9 minutes, until slightly puffy. Cool on wire racks. Blend together the ingredients for the filling, tinting it a pastel pink, green, or yellow if desired. Stick the cooled cookies together in pairs using the filling. Makes about 5 dozen cookies. Serve with any flavor of ice cream.

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[] Here’s a nice stir-fry recipe. If shrimp is not available in your locale, those vacuum bags of imitation crab (“krab”) provide nice substitutes for any kind of shellfish. []

TOKYO SHRIMP TERIYAKI

2 1/2 cups warm water
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon white wine
Dash of garlic powder
1/4 tsp MSG - optional
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
8 cups sliced fresh Oriental-style vegetables (napa, carrots and onions)
Vegetable oil to stir-fry vegetables
4 cups cooked small shrimp (shelled and deveined before cooking)
2 cups steamed rice

To make sauce, combine the 2 1/2 cups warm water, soy sauce, sugars, wine, garlic powder and Hon Dash. Bring to boil and boil 1 minute, stirring to combine. Sauce should be very thin.

Combine the 1/2 cup hot water with cornstarch in small bowl. Mix until smooth. Add all of mixture to sauce. Boil 3 minutes to thicken slightly. Mixture should be consistency of thin gravy.

Cook vegetables in a little oil in wok until tender yet still crisp. Do not overcook. Remove from heat; drain all water from vegetables. Add shrimp and sauce and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until shrimp is heated through. Serve over rice.

Serves 4

Note: This makes a generous amount of sauce. Some will be absorbed by the rice. Add the sauce gradually, so as to avoid “accidental soup.”

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[] This is a nice drink for summer evenings. Or winter evenings. Or any time you like! []

Classic Sangria

2 quarts La Casera (sweet sparkling water) or use diet 7-up
1 bottle (750ml) dry red wine
1 bottle (750ml) dry white wine
1 stick cinnamon
4 oranges, scrubbed, unpeeled, cut into eighths
2 lemons, scrubbed, unpeeled, cut into eighths

Several hours or overnight before serving the sangria, pour about 1/3 of the red wine into a jar and add the cinnamon stick, one cut up orange and 1 cut-up lemon. Let marinate. Just before serving, put plenty of ice into a punch bowl or pitcher and mix in all the ingredients.

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[] In addition to my portable convection oven, I have an electric kettle. That can be used on the back porch as well, and needs very little attention once it is properly started. The electric kettle is not a slow-cooker; the temperatures are the same as on your electric stove cook-top, and it turns itself off and on to maintain the temperature you have set. This recipe is from a “drafthaus” in Pennslyvania. []

UGLY OYSTER GUINNESS BLACK BEAN SOUP

1 pound black beans soaked overnight
2 large onions chopped
4 jalapeno peppers, chopped
5 cups beef stock
1 pound carrots, julienned
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
1 16-oz can Guinness beer
1 tsp Tabasco sauce (or more, to taste)

Garnish
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
sour cream
1 red bell pepper, diced
dill weed
1 Tbsp olive oil
cayenne pepper

Bring beans and stock to a boil and simmer for about 1 hour, or until tender. In a separate pan, add olive oil and sauté garlic, onions, jalapenos, and carrots for about 3 minutes or until soft, then add cumin. Add sautéed vegetables to beans, along with a can of Guinness and the Tabasco. Simmer for one hour. Prepare garnish by combining yellow and red peppers, drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil over all, and toss. Garnish this soup by placing 1 Tbsp sour cream atop soup and 1 Tbsp bell pepper mixture onto the sour cream. Sprinkle on the dill weed and cayenne pepper to finish.

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[] I’m always whining because I cannot make acceptable candy. Perhaps Jamie can make good candy – I’ve never asked her. I don’t want to waste time being envious! My candy attempts always end badly: either you need a fireman’s axe to get it out of the pan, or you need a bib and a spoon. I have decided to quit whining about it, because I have learned something. Those supermarket gondolas that have bulk candies by the pound, and provide sacks and bag closers, have some very nice and inexpensive candy. No more whining!!! []

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PSST - Don't tell Spike - but, I make very good candy. ; ) -Jamie

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Have a great end-of-summer, and enjoy the prospect of falling leaves and rising grades.

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