Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble: A Novel (30 page)
Read Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble: A Novel Online
Authors: Ann B. Ross
So the next morning I was back at it, determined to finish the recipe book, present it to Hazel Marie, and be done with it. With Brother Vernon Puckett soon to be out of the picture and Mr. Pickens safely within the fold—although Hazel Marie had never known my fear of his leaving it—and James the poorer but able to limp around, she should be able to get her house and herself in order. With the recipe book accomplished, I could turn my attention elsewhere.
But before turning anywhere, I had to add Lillian’s recipes and—wouldn’t you know it, because here she’d come with them—LuAnne’s Helpful Household Hints, which I would have to add as well.
As soon as I approached Lillian with my pad and pen and a glint in my eye, she put her hands on her hips and said, “I was ’bout to think you give up on me.”
I smiled. “You couldn’t possibly think that. I knew if I gave you a chance, you’d fill up an entire recipe book by yourself, so I had to let the others get theirs in first.”
She liked that, a contented look settling on her face. As she brought the coffeepot to the kitchen table, I arranged cups and saucers and we sat down to fill up Hazel Marie’s book with recipes that would complete a meal. I had earlier decided that I wouldn’t push her to contribute a main dish recipe because I’d seen her fix too many chickens, fried, baked, and stewed, to say nothing of roasts, both pork and beef, and knew she didn’t use recipes for them. In fact, she rarely used any recipes at all, but I also knew she occasionally consulted a loose-leaf notebook that she kept on a shelf on the pantry. It was aptly described as loose-leaf, for loose pages, index cards, and magazine clippings were stuffed into it.
“Now, Lillian,” I said, “what I want from you are recipes that Hazel Marie can use to complete a meal. I don’t care what they are—desserts, appetizers, side dishes—whatever you think she’d like and would be able to make.”
“Well, I might have to help her with some of these, but I know what she like and that’s what I’m gonna give her.”
And did she ever. I copied recipe after recipe, all while Lillian entertained me with recollections of when she’d made each one, the guests we’d had for dinner the evening she’d served it, and which ones were favorites of Hazel Marie or Mr. Pickens.
“These here now,” she said, pushing over several sheets of paper, “they mostly for appetizers an’ odds ’n’ ends. Mr. Pickens, he can eat a bait of toasted pecans, so she better do two batches of ’em when she start to do one.”
1
/
2
cup butter or margarine, melted
3 cups pecan halves
Salt, to taste
Preheat the oven to 275°F. In a bowl, pour the butter over the pecans, stirring to coat well. Arrange the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Store in an airtight container.
Makes 3 cups.
To
3
/
4
cup of catsup, add 1
1
/
2
tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of horseradish, a few drops of Tabasco, and
1
/
2
teaspoon of salt. Stir well to combine. Chill thoroughly.
1
/
2
cup diced celery
1
/
2
cup diced green pepper
1
/
2
cup diced onion
1
/
2
cup thinly sliced (or diced) cucumber
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
10
3
/
4
-ounce can tomato soup, undiluted
10
3
/
4
ounces water
1
1
/
2
cups vegetable juice cocktail
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon commercial Italian dressing
Garlic salt, to taste
1
/
4
teaspoon salt
1
/
8
teaspoon pepper
4 dashes hot sauce
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Stir gently and serve in chilled bowls or mugs.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
(Hazel Marie, Lillian says to go to a produce stand for the freshest vegetables in the summer. She also says that you need your vitamins and you can get them better with this recipe than with a pill.)
Mix a 1-liter bottle of ginger ale with two 6-ounce cans of frozen limeade, undiluted. Stir well, pour over ice.
Serves 4.
You can prepare this up to a week ahead, if desired.
Blend 1 cup of grated sharp Cheddar cheese with 3 tablespoons of soft butter or margarine. Stir in
1
/
2
cup of all-purpose flour,
1
/
4
teaspoon of salt, and
1
/
2
teaspoon of paprika. Mix well.
Wrap 1 teaspoon of the cheese dough around each of 24 stuffed olives, completely covering the olive. Freezer-wrap, then freeze.
Makes 24 appetizers.
To serve:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Unwrap the desired number of frozen puffs (do not thaw) and arrange them, without touching, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm.
(Lillian says that this is another recipe you should make two batches of, especially if you’ve invited Coleman.)
Now for a couple of congealed salads, which means you should make them ahead of time. If you wait too late in the day, you’ll have to eat them with a spoon.
One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple and juice
Two 3-ounce packages cherry Jell-O
2 bananas, diced
Two 10-ounce packages thawed and sweetened raspberries and juice
2 cups sour cream
Add enough water to the pineapple mixture to make 3 cups of liquid. Heat the liquid and dissolve the Jell-O in it. Cool till syrupy. Add the rest of the ingredients except the sour cream.
Pour half of the mixture into a ring mold and let set. Spread the sour cream on top and spoon the rest of the Jell-O mixture over it.
You may use strawberry Jell-O and frozen strawberries instead of cherry Jell-O and raspberries.
Serves 6.
3-ounce package cherry Jell-O
1 cup hot water
3
/
4
cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon plain gelatin dissolved in 1 cup pineapple juice, then melted over hot water
1 cup ground raw cranberries
1 orange and rind, ground fine
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped celery
1
/
2
cup chopped pecans
Dissolve the Jell-O in the hot water, then add the sugar, lemon juice, and pineapple juice–gelatin mixture, and stir until blended. Chill until partially set, then add the remaining ingredients and pour into a ring mold. To serve, unmold on lettuce leaves. Fill the ring with a small bowl of mayonnaise mixed with 1 or 2 tablespoons of orange juice for garnish.
Serves 8.
(Lillian says to tell you that both the above recipes make pretty Christmas salads, but I expect you already know that because she serves one or the other every year.)
3-ounce package lime Jell-O
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1
/
2
cup hot water
1
/
2
cup chopped pecans
2 cups cottage cheese
1
/
2
cup mayonnaise
1
/
2
cup half-and-half
3-ounce bottle pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
Dissolve the Jell-O and gelatin in the hot water, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour into a ring mold and refrigerate until set.
Serves 4.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Sprinkle into a 9-inch unbaked pie shell:
3
/
4
cup shredded Swiss cheese
3
/
4
cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1
/
2
cup chopped pepperoni
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
In a bowl, mix together the following:
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1
/
2
teaspoon salt
1
/
4
teaspoon oregano
Parsley
Pour into the pie shell. Bake for about 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Serves 6.
(Hazel Marie, this is good for a ladies’ luncheon, but don’t tell anybody what’s in it—they may think it sounds too much like pizza.)
14
3
/
4
-ounce can salmon, drained and picked over
1 egg, beaten
Handful crushed cornflakes
1 teaspoon grated onion
Cornmeal for coating
Mix together all the ingredients except the cornmeal. Form finger rolls and coat with the cornmeal. Fry quickly in hot oil.
(Lillian serves creamed corn, lima beans, and sliced tomatoes with this. It’s one of my favorite family meals.)
Serves 4 to 6.
These next three recipes are for side dishes that go especially well with beef—steak or roast. They make tasty alternatives to fried, scalloped, or baked potatoes, although there’s nothing wrong with potatoes any way you want to serve them. Lillian says that it’s a marvel to her that women seem to prefer the rice casserole, while men rave over the cheese pudding and the company grits. Maybe it’s the cheese that does it.)
1
/
2
stick margarine
10
3
/
4
-ounce can beef consomme
10
3
/
4
ounces water
4-ounce can chopped mushrooms
1 cup white rice (not minute rice)
Dash of salt
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut up the margarine in the bottom of a casserole. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bake with the top on the casserole (or fasten foil tightly over the top) at least 1 hour.
Serves 6.
2 cups cooked grits
5-ounce can evaporated milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
4 eggs, beaten
1
/
2
pound sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add all the ingredients to the cooked grits. Pour into a buttered baking dish. Bake until high and brown, about 30 minutes. Serve at once.
Serves 6.
(You’ve probably noticed that Lillian makes it a habit to serve Company Grits whenever we have a visitor from the North.)
Butter, softened
10 slices loaf bread
1
/
2
pound sharp cheese, grated
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
Butter one side of each slice of bread, then cut into cubes and put a layer into a casserole, lining the sides of the casserole. Then begin alternating grated cheese and more bread cubes until the dish is full, ending with cheese.
Mix together the rest of the ingredients and pour it over the bread and cheese. Let stand for several hours. Bake at 275°F for about 45 minutes, until high and brown. Wonderful with beef.
Serves 6.