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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

(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·->Spike’s Good Eatin’ Recipe Collection Issue 53<-·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯)

November 4, 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[].

Shalom, from
Spike the Grate & Jamie the Webmistress

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PIES

[] Other day, I decided that we should have some pie. When I bake stuff, I like to have all the ingredients measured and ready for use before I actually start the process, and that is what I did. Here is my mother’s pie crust recipe, which has never failed me – yet.: []

PASTRY
From Jeston

Cut in:

4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar or Splenda
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups shortening

Stir in with fork:

1 beaten egg
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup water

This will make four or five crusts. Roll and bake at 450 Deg. F. for 10 minutes, or store in fridge.



[] What makes this special today is that after getting the ingredients all measured and ready for use, I could not find my pastry blender. I’m too lazy (and probably inept) to do that with two knives or however one does it without that piece of equipment. I have a food processor, and it seemed to me that I read somewhere that it could be used for pie crust. I don’t know what brand mine is – it was a gift, and it did not have a booklet with it. Ergo, I couldn’t look up on the internet to see about using it for pastry. I just put the flour into the container, added the shortening, and pulsed it a few times. Wowie! Before you could say “spit” that flour and shortening was one entity! I added the egg and vinegar, and pulsed a couple times more. I added a teaspoon of water, but it really didn’t appear to need any more liquid, so I just scraped the mixture out onto my board. It didn’t look “flaky” or lumpy or anything, so of course, I thought it was going to roll out and bake into a molybdenum clone of the pie pan. Never say “die,” say I, so I rolled it and put it into the pan (half of it, into two pans, actually). I had to do a lot of patching, because it kept breaking. I rolled and re-rolled, knowing that that activity would make it tougher than it already was – but at that point, all I had to lose was a little electricity and the ingredients. Baked it, having pricked it with a fork, all over the bottom and sides, and except for being ugly, it seemed fine. I filled one with coconut cream and the other with butterscotch, as follows:

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VANILLA CREAM PIE
(With variations)

1 baked crust

3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla

MERINGUE:
(or save the egg whites to make an angel-food cake later)
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
6 Tbsp sugar

In saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt; gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir small amount of hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks; immediately return to the hot mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla. Pour into cooled baked pastry shell. If you do not choose to make meringue, put plastic wrap directly onto the filling so it doesn’t form a “skin” and after it is cooled a bit, put in the fridge.

Spread meringue on top, seal it to edges of crust, and bake at 350 deg. F. for 12 to 15 minutes.

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CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE: Increase sugar to 1 cup. Chop up two 1-oz squares chocolate; add with milk.

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BANANA CREAM PIE: Slice 3 bananas into cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pie filling and meringue.

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BUTTERSCOTCH PIE: Substitute brown sugar for sugar. Increase butter to 3 Tbsp.

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COCONUT CREAM PIE: Add 1 cup flaked coconut. Sprinkle top of meringue with 1/3 cup coconut before baking.

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[] Let me assure you, those pies were marvelous! The crusts were flaky and tender and quite flavorful. What a surprise (with regard to using the food processor) that the crust was so lovely. It didn’t matter that it was ugly!

[] I once made a cake to celebrate an impromptu wedding. It was a delicious cake. It was, since Miss Decorator I ain’t, the ugliest cake I had ever seen! I made buttercream frosting and colored it with different colorings, wrote “Mazal Tov” and the couple’s first names. I then tried to make little leaves and flowers. Those resembled bird droppings. Nevertheless, it tasted quite good, and I took a lesson from that decorating attempt, and will never make such an effort again. []

~^~^~^
[] Just found this one – and our neighbor just LOVES really tart lemon pie. Guess I’ll make it and see if it’s sour enough. []

SOUR LEMON MERINGUE PIE

1 prebaked pie shell, purchased or make your own. Use crumb crust or
regular pastry.

3 egg yolks
4 whole eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter, cut into chunks

Double boiler, or a small metal bowl floating in a pot of water

Place bottom of double boiler with water over medium heat. Squeeze lemons. Stir cornstarch into lemon juice until there are no lumps of cornstarch, and put into top half of double boiler. (You can put lemon juice and cornstarch in small jar and shake until corn-starch is dissolved, then place into double boiler.) Separate 3 eggs, reserving whites for meringue. Beat egg yolks and eggs into lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. Add sugar. Reduce heat to simmer in bottom of double boiler. Place top half of double boiler on bottom half. Stir constantly until mixture coats the back of a spoon and thickens. It goes from thin to thick very suddenly. Remove from heat and stir in butter until completely melted. Pour into pie shall. Top with meringue, sealing edges well. Place in preheated 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meringue

3 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
3/4 cup sugar (Spike thinks 1/4 cup is enough)
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tarter. Beat just until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Spread over top of pie, being sure to seal edges well. Bake at 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool in draft free area. Refrigerate when pie is completely cool.

This recipe can also be used to make Lemon Snow Pudding. When ready to start cooking filling, make meringue. Cook lemon filling. Gently fold meringue into hot lemon filling. Put in individual pudding cups or bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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A (TRUE) FROG STORY

When I (Spike) was about 15, our family lived on Lake Oswego, Oregon. Part of that lake is a pond, which is reached via a little narrow inlet on the north side of the lake. At the time of this narrative, people didn’t live there – only beavers and frogs and ducks. One Saturday night, late, my father (who had had a few too many drinks) and his friend and neighbor, Earl, decided to go frogging. They embarked in one of our rowboats, and headed for the “frog pond”. There were three or four other couples at our house, drinking, eating, and having fun, as was usual for a Saturday night. After being gone about 2 hours, Father and Earl returned, each carrying a burlap bag. Both bags were full and were moving. They came into the house and opened the bags. Out jumped about 100 or so frogs, and they soon were everywhere in the house. One of the female guests stood on our dining table and screamed, since she was afraid of frogs. We five or six young people enjoyed the entire spectacle very much! My mother didn’t enjoy it at all – she feared that some of our lovely ornaments would be broken, and we did sustain a couple of small losses. The next day, we feasted on frog legs, as follows:

FROG LEGS IN GARLIC SAUCE


Makes 4 servings

8 pairs jumbo frog legs, about 2 pounds, split
1 stalk fresh lemon grass soaked for 1 hour in warm water, finely
chopped
2 fresh red chili peppers, sliced
2 scallions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
pinch salt
2 tablespoons fish sauce, divided
2 ounces bean thread vermicelli
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup coconut cream or heavy cream
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
freshly ground black pepper
cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Rinse the frog legs with cold water and pat dry. Return them to the refrigerator.

Combine the lemon grass, chilies, scallions, garlic, sugar, salt and 1 tablespoon fish sauce in a blender or food processor until a very fine paste results. Rub the paste over the frog legs, cover and refrigerate again for 30 minutes.

Soak the vermicelli in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain and cut into 2 inch lengths.

Heat the oil in a wok over moderate heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, then add the frog legs and brown well, turning them over from time to time. This should take 3 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Uncover the wok and add the coconut cream. Add the cornstarch mixture and the remaining fish sauce. Stir as the sauce thickens and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove the tender frog legs.

Add the vermicelli and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Pour the noodles and sauce into a bowl and put the frog legs on top. Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

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[] If you don’t want to do frog legs, you may enjoy these ribs.[]

MANDARIN STYLE COUNTRY RIBS

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 Tbsp catsup
1 clove garlic - crushed
3-4 lbs. country style ribs

Combine all but ribs and brush on both sides of ribs. Place ribs in crock pot and pour remaining sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

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[] Potatoes are about my favorite foods. Could it be because I’m Irish, or do they just taste good? []

SCALLOPED POTATOES

6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 1/2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp butter
2 cup whole milk, scalded
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.

Layer potatoes and onions in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 cup cheese between layers. Sprinkle last 1/4 cup cheese on top.

Melt butter in a saucepan, remove from heat and stir through flour. Return butter-flour mixture to heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Return to heat and simmer until mixture boils and thickens. Add extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Pour sauce over layered potatoes. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until cooked.

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[] Today is Halloween, and I can’t find my clown wig. That is such a bummer! I’m too cheap to buy another, so I’ll have to find a weird hat. We hope all of you will have had a very fun Halloween, and that your decorations come down easily. []

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Shalom, from Spike the Grate and Jamie the Webmistress

SHALOM FROM SPIKE & JAMIE


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