Other People's Recipes

The past few days I've been able to try some recipes that other bloggers mentioned on their blogs and/or submitted here.

1. Pixie submitted her recipe for Meatloaf Muffins a while ago and we had those earlier this week. Just like she said, they were tasty and popped right out of the muffin pans easily.



2. Granny Geek mentioned this wonderful Chocolate Tres Leches cake on her blog recently. I had to try it, and I'm glad I did. I'm not a big fan of chocolate...a little goes a long way for me...but this cake was gone within a couple of days. The link to the recipe is in Granny's post.

3. Not long ago, Violet wrote about taking a Waldorf Salad to a shower she attended. (Sorry, Vi, I can't seem to find that post on your blog.) Anyway, it had been a long time since I'd had Waldorf Salad and I thought it sounded good. But I didn't have the typical celery and raisins that usually go in it. So I made up my own version using dried cranberries, instead. As an aside, I tried using mayonnaise. It was a brand new jar, but for some reason, it didn't taste fresh, but I didn't figure this out until after I had it in the salad. No worries...I just dumped all of the salad into a large colander, rinsed off all the mayo with cold water, let it drain a little and started over. This time I used Miracle Whip from an open jar in the fridge, and it turned out much better, without having to through the whole thing in the garbage.

Here's my version:



Blogarita's Cran-Apple Waldorf Salad

3 large apples, cored and chopped (leave peel on)
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice (to keep apples from darkening)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
pinch of ground allspice
pinch of celery seed

Toss apples with lemon or lime juice. Stir in walnuts and dried cranberries.

Add mayonnaise and stir until all pieces are coated well. Add allspice and celery seed and stir well.

Chill before serving.

Makes about 4 servings.

Amish Apples and Peasant Pork

Tonight we had the epitome of comfort food: Gravy made from boiled smoked pork shanks along with Amish apples and onions.

Pork shanks are basically cross-wise slices of a ham near what would be considered the hogs ankle. The meat is sparse, but what's there is tender and smoky. The gravy is great served over homemade biscuits (or those handy frozen bake-n-eat kind...those're good, too) with a salad on the side.

We left the table very happy.


Pork Shank Gravy

1 pkg. (about 1/2 lb.) of smoked pork shank slices
1 qt. of water
approximately 4 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed into about 1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Place pork shanks in water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about an hour.
Remove pork shanks from broth. The meat will literally fall off the bone.
Remove any fat and bones, shred the pork and return it to the broth.
Bring broth and meat back to a gentle boil.
Stir in cornstarch and water mixture and stir until gravy thickens. (You may have to add additional cornstarch and water mixture.)
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 over biscuits.


Amish Apples and Onions
(from More Recipes From Quilt Country by Marcia Adams)

3 T. bacon fat (can use oil)
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
6 medium apples, skins left on, cored and sliced 3/8" thick
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

Saute onions in bacon fat over medium heat until tender and onions are just beginning to take on color.
Spread onions evenly in pan, then top with apple slices.
Sprinkle salt, pepper, cinnamon and brown sugar over apple slices. Do not stir.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and let cook without stirring for 10 minutes.
Remove lid, increase heat to high. Stir mixture lightly.
Continue to saute mixture until apples are tender and liquids have thickened. This may take 10-15 minutes, depending on type of apples used.
Serve as a side dish along with pork or alongside bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Serves 6.