Ella Beals Wilson's Recipes
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Toll House Cookies
1C brown sugar
1C shortening
grated rind of 2 oranges
1tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1C flour
4C rolled oats
8 oz chocolate chips
Cream together the brown sugar and shortening with a mixer. Add the orange rind, vanilla, eggs, salt, flour and mix thoroughly. Add, stirring in by hand, the rolled oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto greased cookie sheet. Don't smooth; leave a rough surface on the cookies. Bake about 12 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool on wire rack.
Fried Oysters
1 pkg. (1 sleeve) of saltine crackers
1 pint fresh oysters
1 egg
1/8 C milk
With a rolling pin, crush the saltines into a cracker meal. Coat each oyster with cracker meal and place on waxed paper until all are coated. Beat egg and milk together. Dip the coated oysters into the milk-egg mix, then coat again with cracker crumb meal. Fry oysters a few at a time in deep fat fryer, or in an inch of oil in a skillet, until golden brown. Drain on brown paper until all are done, and serve hot, with french fries.
We would save the oyster liquid and a few oysters to make oyster stew, a traditional Christmas morning breakfast with pastry and orange juice.
Lemon Sponges
2C sugar
2 Tbsp flour
juice & grated rind of 2 lemons
4 egg yolks, beaten
2 Tbsp melted butter
pinch of salt
2C milk
Mix the sugar & flour together, then add remaining ingredients. Fold gently into 4 stiffly beaten egg whites. Ladle into custard cups and set the cups into a pan. Add boiling water to the pan, sufficient to come 1/3 of the way up the custard cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until the sponge is light brown on top. As they bake, a sponge cake layer forms on top of a lemon pudding layer which is very sweet-tart
Paunhaus or Scrapple
Cook a pork roast in 3 qts water in a crockpot overnight. Remove meat and shred.
To the broth (boiling) add half of a 24 oz. box of yellow corn meal. To prevent lumps, add some cold water to the cornmeal first. Add salt, coarse ground pepper, and a heaping teaspoon of sage, to taste. Add 1 C buckwheat flour for dark color. Add the shredded meat.
Cook slowly in crockpot for as long as you have time to watch it, at least 3 hrs. (Longer cooking helps prevent sticking to the skillet when you later fry slices.) Continually scrape caked edges back into the slurry.
Pour into bread pans lined with foil, cool & refrigerate overnight.
Slice & fry in hot oil, preferably in an iron skillet. Serve with butter and warm maple syrup.
Pineapple Congealed Salad
Also known as the Christmas Salad. It was also served at Easter. The recipe was from Ethel Crosley.
1 small pkg. lemon jello
1 small can crushed pineapple,juice drained & reserved
pineapple juice + water to make 1C
6oz cream cheese
1C celery chopped fine
1C walnuts, chopped fine
1/2 pint cream, whipped
Boil 1 C water. Dissolve jello. Add cream cheese & mash with fork till melted. Add 1 C pineapple juice & water mix. When cool but not congealed, add celery & nuts. Cool until slightly congealed; fold in whipped cream. Pour into mold or straight sided bowl and refrigerate, covered. Unmold by placing bowl into larger bowl of warm water until sides begin to loosen. Dry outside of bowl and invert onto platter lined with (Bibb) lettuce.
Basque Salad
This salad was a favorite in the 1960's, often served to guests with Chicken Kiev.
1 jar (6 oz) Cara Mia marinated artichoke hearts
1 head (5 C) iceberg lettuce, torn
2C watercress, trimmed
1 avocado, peeled & sliced
2 oranges, peeled & sectioned.
Mix and toss in salad bowl.
Dressing:
Add to the reserved marinade in jar:
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp grated onion
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt.
Add the dressing to the salad and toss. Sprinkle salad with
1 Tbsl toasted sesame seeds.
Big Sky Honey Crackle
On several occasions Ella accompanied her younger daughter's family on ski trips, to baby-sit the children. She brought this recipe back from one of those trips.
3 quarts popcorn
1C blanched slivered almonds
1/2 C butter
1C brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 C honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
Turn popcorn into a large stainless steel bowl or roasting pan. Sprinkle with almonds (or other nuts).
In a 1 quart saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, salt & honey. Over medium heat, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Boil gently without stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla & baking soda.
Pour mixture over popcorn & nuts. Stir until well mixed. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely; break apart & store in tightly covered container. Makes about 3 quarts.
The Christmas Candies
Ella would make an array of candies at Christmas time. A selection of these would be arrayed on a glass platter to serve to guests. One year she made foil paper cones lined with paper doilies, filled with the candies and hung on the Christmas tree to give to visitors.
Stuffed Dates
1 box of seeded dates
small chunks of fresh coconut
whole Brazil nuts and walnut halves
powdered sugar
Slit the dates open, insert a nut or piece of coconut, seal the date around the filling and (optional) roll in powdered sugar.
Date Roll Slices
Ella got this recipe while working for Mrs. Marsh in Washington, D. C.
3C sugar
1C milk
Cook to soft ball stage (235-240 degrees F; 113-116 degrees C)
Add 1 box of chopped seeded dates.
Cook 5 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add
pinch of cream of tartar
1C chopped walnuts
Beat until fairly stiff. Pour onto a damp dish towel and shape into a roll. Place towel-wrapped candy in refrigerator to cool. Slice in 1/4 inch thick wheels.
Fudge
This recipe is also from Mrs. Marsh.
1 1/2 pkg chocolate chips
4 oz. (1/2 jar) marshmallow creme
1/4 lb butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1C nuts chopped (walnuts or pecans)
Mix 2 1/2 C sugar with
1/2 C +1/3 C (1/2 tall can) condensed milk.
Boil the sugar & milk mixture for 9 minutes from the time mix starts to boil. Pour over the remaining ingredients (except nuts) in a bowl and stir till creamy. Stir in chopped nuts. Pour into square cake dish, and cut into squares.
Caramel Candy
Mix in a saucepan:
1 1/2 C brown sugar, packed
1/4 C top milk (whole milk plus some half & half)
2T butter
Bring to a boil & boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Add 1 tsp. vanilla.
Cool then beat till creamy. Add cream if too stiff.
Coconut Candy
2C sugar
1C milk
lump of butter the size of an egg
Cook to soft ball stage.
Add 2 C shredded coconut
Return to a boil, then remove from heat.
Add 1 tsp almond flavoring.
Beat till creamy. Pour onto a platter or square baking dish; cut into squares.
Fondant
2C sugar
2/3 C water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Boil to soft ball stage. Pour onto buttered platter, cool, knead to soft opaque white texture. The fondant can be divided into portions and different flavorings (mint, maple, vanilla, orange, etc) added. Also, chopped nuts, candied fruit, drained chopped maraschino cherries, etc. can be worked into the different batches.
For Easter, roll the fondant candy into an egg shape, coat with melted chocolate chips or Hershey bar, then decorate or add names with frosting and cake decorator.
