Killer Mousse
Page 28
This recipe serves 8–10 guests, but it can be doubled for a crowd. If you have fewer than 8–10 guests, freeze what’s left over; it’s just as good when it’s thawed out.
Ramona Hennessy’s
Broccoli Casserole
This delicious side dish is courtesy of Ramona Hennessy, sister of actress Barbara Rush. Ramona and Barbara cook big Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for their “family” of friends, and this dish is always part of the huge buffet. One year Ramona said she might make something different, and there was a huge outcry of protest. Ramona told me, “This casserole is so easy, it’s embarrassing.”
1 package frozen broccoli (10 ounces)
1 cup half-and-half
1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup prepared stuffing
¼ cup water
¼ cup melted butter
Salt and pepper
Cook broccoli until tender, but don’t overcook. Drain off water.
Make white sauce by mixing half-and-half and flour, and cook over a medium heat until thick. (Use a wooden spoon and stir continuously.) This thickens quickly, in 2 or 3 minutes. You’ll know the white sauce is ready when it makes a thick coat on the back of the wooden spoon.
Combine stuffing mix with water and butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together cooked broccoli and white sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put broccoli mixture into a lightly greased baking dish. Scatter stuffing mixture on top. Bake for 35 minutes.
This recipe serves 4, but it can be doubled easily. Warning: No matter how much you make for your dinner guests, don’t expect to have any left over for yourself the next day.
Della’s
Latkes
4 russet potatoes, peeled and grated
1 medium onion, 1⁄3 grated, 2⁄3 chopped
2 eggs
3 tablespoons matzo meal or 2 tablespoons matzo meal and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil
Drain the grated potatoes by forcing them through a sieve until as much liquid as possible is squeezed out. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, onion, eggs, and matzo meal (or the matzo meal and flour mixture). Add a generous pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper and mix well. (It will be gooey and look like a mess.)
Put a depth of about 1⁄2 inch of vegetable oil into a heavy skillet and heat until tiny bubbles begin to form on the bottom.
Shape the potato mixture into thick patties about the circumference of a silver dollar and drop into the hot oil. Cook the latkes about 3 or 4 minutes on each side. They will be golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and drain onto 3 or 4 layers of paper towels. Serve hot or warm with dollops of applesauce and/or sour cream.
This recipe makes 10–12 latkes, depending on thickness desired.
Della’s
Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce
12 large apples (Pippin, Granny Smith, or a tart red—don’t use Red Delicious because they’re too soft)
Sugar
Cinnamon
Peel and core the apples, put them into a heavy pot with a little water, and cover the pot. Cook the fruit over medium heat until soft, or approximately 20 minutes. Remove from heat and mash apples, but leave the applesauce a bit chunky. Add sugar and cinnamon to taste. Put into a glass container (not plastic) and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
NOTE: When money was tight, I’d make up jars of this applesauce to give as holiday presents. You can create cute personal labels on the computer, or buy premade labels in most office supply or stationery stores. You don’t have to spend extra money for the jars if you save glass jars during the year. (Be sure to sterilize the jars so the taste of the previous occupant doesn’t taint your applesauce.)
Carole Moore Adams’s
Quick and Easy Nut-Butter Fudge
½ cup honey (butter inside of measuring cup to make honey slide out easily)
¼ cup butter (half a ¼ -pound stick)
1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup nut butter (smooth or crunchy, any kind such as almond, cashew, peanut; butter inside of measuring cup so nut butter will slide out smoothly after measuring)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line an 8 × 8 × 2 inch pan with parchment or wax paper. Put honey, butter, and chocolate chips into the top of a double boiler—over hot, not boiling water—and stir constantly until ingredients are melted and thoroughly mixed together. Remove top part of double boiler and stir in nut butter and vanilla. Pour fudge mixture into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator until set, about 1 hour. Cut fudge into 1-inch squares. Insert a toothpick into each square for easy pick-up.
NOTE: Carole told me that the first time she made this fudge, her sister Chris came over to trim her hair, tasted the fudge, and took a third of it home for her family’s evening dessert. It’s the best fudge I’ve ever had.
Regina Cocanougher’s
Funeral Salad
1 can cherry pie filling (21 ounces)
1 can of pineapple tidbits (20 ounces) or crushed chunks, drain juice
1 can of sweetened condensed milk, Regina likes Eagle Brand (14 ounces)
1 cup of miniature marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tub of Cool Whip (16 ounces)
Whip it all together and refrigerate until ready to serve.
NOTE: Regina lives in Decatur, Texas. Her sister, Broadway, movie, and TV actress Carole Cook, taught me how to make this delicious creation, which can either be a buffet side dish or a dessert. I call it “Ambrosia,” but Carole says Regina calls it “Funeral Salad” because she always keeps the ingredients on hand in her pantry. When someone she knows passes away, Regina whips up a big bowl of this and takes it over to the family.
Melinda Wells was born in Georgia and grew up wanting to be a writer. She wasn’t interested in cooking until she was living in New York City and engaged to marry a talent agent. “Most of the time we went out to dinner with his clients, but one night we were home and I made dinner for him: Beef Stroganoff. He raved about how good it was, and how impressed he was. I was embarrassed to tell him that it was the only dish I knew how to make, so the next day I enrolled in a cooking school.” Melinda’s black standard poodle (the original “Tuffy”) passed away after sixteen happy and healthy years. Now, she’s making plans to adopt another standard from a poodle rescue organization. Currently, Melinda Wells lives in Los Angeles with rescued pets and enjoys cooking for friends. Please visit her website at dellacooks.com.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Recipes