the heirloom platea collection of recipes passed from generation to generation

the heirloom plate

the heirloom plate: germana collection of recipes passed from generation to generation

by Jaclyn SalemFall 2010

There are things that make every family unique, and in mine, one of those aspects is food and cooking. Family gatherings are often centered around food, and it is available for the duration of the get together. It is a running joke in my family that no one could possibly leave a gathering hungry; in-laws are always shocked (pleasantly though), at the sheer amount of food, which typically spreads out over several tables and all available counter spaces in the kitchen; my grandmother is making 8 varieties of pie this year for Thanksgiving.

It is not only the amount of food that is special, but also the recipes them-selves. All recipes are passed down and around from generation to generation by recipe cards or by word of mouth, many of them made-up creations that turn into traditions, especially in the case of my great-grandmother, Clarissa Vonderschmidt, who made up several of her own recipes and baked with measurements such as “a handful,”“a good handful,” and “a pinch” instead of teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups.

My heritage is quite diverse: I am mostly of Lebanese and German culture. This book showcases a few of these recipes that not only highlight my cultural heritage, but also a series of (tasty) constants in my life.

It should be noted that the ingredients for each recipe are filed as grocery lists at the back of each culture’s recipe collection. They can be referenced by page number.

entrées

Barbeque-Style Meatloaf,—prepared by cousin Kim Davis

BARBEQUE-STYLE MEATLOAFDIRECTIONS

Mix beef, crumbs, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and ½ can tomato sauce. Form into loaf, and put into shallow pan. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes. Pour off grease. Combine the rest of the ingredients, including 1 ½ cans of tomato sauce. Pour over loaf and bake approximately 30—45 minutes longer. Baste occasionally.

FLUFFY DUMPLINGSDIRECTIONS

Combine egg, milk, and salad oil. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just mixed. Do not over mix! Drop it by the spoonfuls into boiling broth (3 cups liquid). Turn down and simmer with lid on for 15 minutes. Do not lift lid until done.

“There are no better tomatoes in the world than the ones that came from that garden. Oh my god, those were good tomatoes. Honest to god, Jaclyn, there are noth-ing like these tomatoes. I’ve been looking, and growing different strains for years, and they just don’t compare. These tomatoes just taste like tomatoes. These tomatoes in the store, they are bred to look pretty, and to last in the store, but they don’t taste like a tomato.”

—Susan Wadsworth Davis

“We had an acre and a half of land. Every inch had something growing on it. We raised all of our potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, everything except meat. But we had an uncle that raised the meat, and we got most of our meat from him. We canned just tons of food

from this garden, so we pretty much had all the vegetables that we needed all winter long. Food definitely tasted better than it does now. Especially the tomatoes. And the green beans. Well, everything really just had that fresh taste.”

—Mamaw

GRANDMA VONDERSCHMIDT’SVEGETABLE SOUP

Cook hamburger and onions until done. Add tomatoes and sauce with more water and cook a few minutes. Add vegetables and boil for 10 minutes.

DIRECTIONS

WHITE CHILIDIRECTIONS

Stir all ingredients together and bring to rapid boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 1 hour. Cover with lid cocked. Top with grated mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and sour cream.

White Chili—prepared by Aunt Kate

“”

-Mary Rita Wadsworth

“I learned how to cook from my mom. Every day. She cooked every-day and I was just there to help her. I really enjoyed cooking and working with her on projects. She made all of our homemade bread. It was really seldom that we bought loaves of store-bought bread. She’d bake bread twice a week. And she made all sorts of cou-cans and nut breads and stuff. At Christmas time, she always baked this special nut bread. And everyone in town would call her for this special nutbread. To this day, I don’t really know what was in it, really. But it was really special.”

-Mary Rita Wadsworth

STUFFED APPETIZER BREADDIRECTIONS

The day before serving, place bread dough in fridge to start thawing. Also, in skillet, brown sausage until no longer pink. Drain well and store in a container in fridge until ready to use next day. It is also best to prepare the roasted red pepper and store in the refrigerator at this time. On the day of serving, combine cream cheese and garlic. Set aside. On lightly floured surface, roll bread dough to a 16x12 inch rectangle. Place onto baking sheet that has raised edges. Spread cream cheese/garlic mixture lengthwise down the center third of the dough. Top with sausage, peppers, olives, and cheese. Fold dough over filling, pinching seam to seal. Make slits across top of dough every 2 inches. Brush lightly with water and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Baked Beans—prepared by cousin Kim Davis

BAKED BEANSDIRECTIONSMix all ingredients with a small amount of water from rinsing cans. Bake 1 hour or longer until slightly dry.

BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

Prepare broccoli according to package directions. Meanwhile, Take ½ stick of the butter and sauté onions and celery. In casserole dish, mix cooked onion and celery (including cooking butter), drained and cut broccoli, and mushroom soup. Layer top with cheese. Sauté bread crumbs in other ½ stick of butter until bread is soft. Place on top of casserole. May add slivered almonds if desired. Bake at 350º until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.

DIRECTIONS

CREAM CHEESE SALSADIRECTIONSMix ingredients thoroughly and serve.

“The schnizlebonk was right across the street from our house. My mother would give me a dime, and I would go across the street for ten cents a quart. We went there every day. We didn’t have a refrigerator or anything. We lived in Jasper, Indiana. My great great grandparents lived in Bavaria the country, what is currently Germany. All the recipes we have our handed down from family. Most of them weren’t even written down. It was passed down by mouth.”

—Mamaw

GRANDMA VONDERSCHMIDT’S DRESSINGDIRECTIONS

Toast and cut bread into bite sized pieces. Sauté celery and onions in a skillet. Add water and butter. Cook turkey giblets and use the juice. Add eggs, and salt and pepper to taste. Use enough broth to make very moist, almost sloppy. Bake at 350º for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

MARINATED ARTICHOKE HEARTSDIRECTIONSCombine all ingredients except artichoke hearts. Mix well. Place artichoke hearts in a dish with a lid, and pour marinade over. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours, turning several times.

Grandma Vonderschmidt’s Dressing—prepared by Aunt Kate

“My great-grandparents raised rabbits and other livestock and butchered them for meat.”

—Mamaw

Sausage Gravy—prepared by cousin Kim Davis

MARINATED BROCCOLIDIRECTIONSIn a jar with a tightly-fitted lid, combine vinegar, sugar, dill seed, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Shake until well mixed. Add oil and shake again. Pour over broccoli in large bowl. Toss, cover, and marinate 24 hours, turning several times. (It is best to use a non-metallic bowl with seal tight lid for added convenience in mixing.)

MARINATED CUCUMBERSDIRECTIONSCombine all ingredients.The longer the ingredients sit, the stronger the flavor.

SAUSAGE GRAVY

Cook sausage. Add remaining ingredients and heat.DIRECTIONS

An article written in the Jasper, Indiana, newspaper on April 23, 1978, featuring my great-grandparents, Clarissa and Louis Vonderschmidt, and their farming experience.

APPLE CRISPDIRECTIONS

Slice apples and put in bottom of pan. Chop up remaining ingredients and mix very thoroughly, and sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350° until apples are soft for about 1 hour.

“I remember Grandma never measured anything. It was a handful of this, and “good” handful of that. You could never get measurements from her. She hardly ever cooked from recipes.”

—Mom

Banana Bread—prepared by cousin Kim

BANANA BREADDIRECTIONS

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Sift together dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with banana, blending well after each addition. Stir in nuts. Pour into well-greased loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 40—45 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

*Note—takes 2 ½ bananas for 1 cup mashed.

“We’d pick out live chickens— brought them home alive by their feet. Mom would chop their heads off and we’d eat chicken every Sunday. We always had homemade ice cream too. We’d buy a ten cent block of ice, and that would be enough to make ice creams with the strawberries and peaches that we grew ourselves. In the summer time, we’d make it just about every Sunday. In the wintertime on Sundays, mom would pop popcorn. We’d roast peanuts—we grew our own peanuts too. And we’d listen to the radio. We’d have peanuts and popcorn, sometimes she’d make popcorn balls—that was a real treat! Lots of time we’d eat these broiled cheese crackers. And she was always making up recipes.”

—Mamaw

BREAD PUDDINGDIRECTIONS

Melt butter and combine with beaten eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and milk. Mix and pour over bread crumbs. Bake in greased 9x12 or square cake pan in moderate heat (350°) oven for 45—50 minutes. Raisins may be added.

Bread Pudding—prepared by Aunt Kate

CHERRY DELIGHTDIRECTIONS

Mix Dream whip, milk, and powdered sugar. Add softened cream cheese. In the bottom of a pie dish, layer graham cracker for crust, then 1/3 of dream mixture, followed by the cherries,

and then top with dream mixture. Chill for 1 hour.

Cherry Delight—prepared by Mom

GRANDMA VONDERSCHMIDT’S SPONGE CAKEDIRECTIONSMix together and pour in a greased and floured 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350° for approximately 35—40 minutes. This cake is not normally eaten by itself; it is great to use for short cakes or as Lady Fingers when sliced thinly.

CHARLOTTE ROUSSE

Blend sugar, eggs, water, salt, flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Bake in a greased, floured, refrigerated pan in 350º oven until done (about 30 minutes). Cut the entire cooled cake into finger-sized pieces. Layer bottom of serving dish with cake, then pudding, then whipped cream, then jell-o. Repeat this layering until all ingredients are used, ending with the whipped cream or jell-o layer.

DIRECTIONS

Grandma Vonderschmidt’s Sponge Cake used to make Charlotte Rousse—prepared by Mom

THELMA’S JELL-O SALADDIRECTIONS

Combine 2 cups of boiling water, fruit, and 1 cup of the pineapple and apricot juices. For the topping: cook ingredients slowly until thick, stirring constantly. Remove and stir in butter. Cook and fold in 1 cup whipped cream and sprinkle with grated cheese or nuts.

Custard Pie—prepared by Aunt Kate

CUSTARD PIEDIRECTIONS

Blend eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Gradually stir in scalded milk. Pour into pie crust. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 350° for 35–45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out cleanly. Cool on rack, then chill.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE FROSTINGDIRECTIONS

Cook and stir all ingredients, except coconut and pecans, over medium heat until thickened for about 12 minutes. Add coconut and pecans. Beat until thick enough to spread.

OATMEAL CAKEDIRECTIONS

Pour boiling water over oats and margarine. Add dark brown sugar, white sugar, and eggs. Sift and add flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Bake in wax-lined iron skillet at 350° for 40—45 minutes. For the icing, combine 1 cup brown sugar, 4 tbsp margarine,

PEACH CUSTARD PIEDIRECTIONS

Put sugared peaches into raw pie crust. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the peaches. If peaches are juicy, use less milk. Bake for about 1 hour on moderate heat until custard sets.

Oatmeal Cake—prepared by Mamaw

REAL ITALIAN CHEESECAKE

DIRECTIONS

Mix graham crackers with ½ cup sugar and the 3 tbsp butter at the bottom of a 12 inch springform pan. Press to bottom of pan. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth. Bake at 350º for 1 hour. (It is ready when the center is firm or when there is a crack in the middle) Mix 1 pint sour cream, ½ cup sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes. Spread on top of cream cheese cake and rebake for 15 minutes. Let cool. Do not remove from tin until after 2 hours. Run knife around edge of pan before removing sides.

Real Italian Cheesecake—prepared by Mom

“When I was a kid, when I had breakfast, we always had cereal, and I got one glass of milk and that’s it. And I had to pour it on my cereal and drink the rest. We always got tiny boxes of ice cream. And I decided that when I had a family, we would always have plenty of milk and ice cream and encourage our kids to drink a lot of it. Back in the old days, milk would arrive in an icebox, and for some reason, whenever it thunder-stormed, the milk got this taint to it— it soured. As kids we always got so excited when it thunder-stormed because my mother made pancakes out of the soured milk. So we always knew we were getting pancakes when it thunder-stormed.”

—Papaw

Rocky Road Chunks—prepared by Mom

Rosettes—prepared by Dad

ROCKY ROAD CHUNKSDIRECTIONS

Heat water in bottom half of double boiler. While stirring constantly, melt chocolate chips in top half of double boiler. When chocolate is completely melted, remove from heat and add peanuts and marshmallows. Drop by the spoonful onto waxed paper and let cool.

ROSETTESDIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients (excluding oil) together. In a deep frying pan, pour in oil, and put rose iron in to heat. Make sure the iron and oil are very hot. Dip iron in batter, fry until golden brown. Remove iron from oil, and detach rosette to cool. Top with powdered sugar.

SNICKERDOODLESDIRECTIONS

Mix the shortening, white sugar, and eggs together. Sift the remaining ingredients into the first mixture. Form into balls, and roll in a strong cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for about 15 minutes (until done) at 350º.

VANILLA CHRISTMAS COOKIES

DIRECTIONS

Cream shortening and sugar thoroughly. Add eggs, cream, and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and add to cream mixture. Mix well. Fill cookie-press, place on un-greased sheet.

Vanilla Christmas Cookies—prepared by Mom

This book was produced by Jaclyn Salem as partial fulfillment of the requirements of ArtDes 400 Typography Emphasis, in the Graphic Design Department of the

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, in the fall of 2010.

the heirloom platea collection of recipes passed from generation to generation

the heirloom plate: lebanesea collection of recipes passed from generation to generation

by Jaclyn SalemFall 2010

GREEK CHEESE TRIANGLES

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350º. Grease 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish. Mix baking mix, buttermilk, and eggs. Spread in pan. Drizzle with butter, sprinkle with cheese, and salt. Bake until deep golden brown for 35—40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Cut into 2 inch squares and cut squares into triangles. Garnish with black olive slices.

HUMMUS

DIRECTIONS

In a food processor bowl with knife blade attached, add all ingredients except cilantro, pita bread, and olives. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a platter or shallow bowl, cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours. To serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, a bit more paprika. Serve with pita bread wedges and olives.

Hummus—prepared by Mom

“I really hadn’t experienced any ethnic food at all, growing up. Lebanese food, I was surprised to learn, is very very healthy for you. Lots of grains, not tons of meat for the most part, and cooked very healthy. Surprisingly, they use a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg—not in sweets, but in seasoning for meat and things like that. The also used a lot of lemon! The gathering time for the dinner was a very important part of their culture. The hummus was always a shared thing, people just dipped their pita bread in things and ate it. There was a lot of communal style eating.”

—Susan Wadsworth Davis

INDIAN BREAD

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients. Add very hot water until dough is elastic. Knead the dough until mixed well. Cover and let it sit for 20—30 minutes. Roll into balls using more flour, and pat each roll into a round. Grease a skillet with shortening. Put dough rounds into skillet and keep it moving. Cook for a few minutes, then flip and cook the other side. Skillet needs to be pretty hot. This recipe can also be used for fry bread, just deep fry instead.

PITA WEDGESDIRECTIONS

Cut pita bread into wedges and spread interior side with margarine. Sprinkle with thyme, basil, and onion salt. Bake at 375º until golden brown.

TABBOULEHDIRECTIONS

Soak burgul in water for about 20 minutes until al dente. Drain and squeeze out excess moisture. Add burgal to onions, parsley, and mint. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and add it onto salad. Let it stand for 15 minutes so that flavors may be absorbed. Add the tomatoes. Toss the salad.

Pita Wedges—prepared by Jaclyn Salem

This book was produced by Jaclyn Salem as partial fulfillment of the requirements of ArtDes 400 Typography Emphasis, in the Graphic Design Department of the

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, in the fall of 2010.