Cooks exchange: Treasure, share those family recipes

Preserving family recipes is so important. Too often, our aging relatives and their recipes are taken for granted, with the expectation they will always be around.

Sadly, that's not the case.

Three readers shared some of their mothers' and family's recipes today, all of them special. Reader Jan Doolittle's note said it all.

"Thanks for putting out the call for all those great recipes of our mothers. I've enclosed several of her favorites -- only wish she were still here so I could make them for her again."

After Hurricane Katrina, Pattie Necaise of Ocean Springs, Miss., and her family decided to compile a cookbook of all their favorite recipes. It's called "Kiss the Cook."

"The kids were worried that our family recipes could be lost. Two of our family members lost their homes and possessions along Wolf River," said Necaise. "They really missed their personal favorite and old-time family recipes.

"So, I compiled our families' recipes into a fairly good-sized book and had it printed locally at American Printing. I am an artist and did the illustrations myself. We gave copies to the kids and all the cooks in our extended family for Christmas. I'd encourage everyone to make the effort to do something like this even if it is a simple folder with favorites."

Lynette Faul of Gulfport, Miss., said: "I found this favorite one that Mum always made."

It's not too late for other readers to share their mother's, grandmother's or family's recipes. Please send them to me to share with fellow readers. It's a good way to re-visit old-time recipes.

Here are some of

these women's memory-making recipes. Enjoy!

CHEESE-FROSTED CAULIFLOWER

1 head cauliflower

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons mustard

3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

Remove leaves, trim base from medium head of cauliflower. Wash. Precook whole in boiling salted water for 12 to 15 minutes; drain, tear apart and place in ungreased shallow baking pan. Sprinkle with salt. Combine mayonnaise and mustard; spread over cauliflower. Top with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serves 5. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 10-15 minutes.

-- Submitted by Jan Doolittle

CREOLE CABBAGE

1 head of cabbage, quartered

4 strips bacon

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup green onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoon chopped green pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

1/2 cup tomato sauce

Boil cabbage until barely tender (10 minutes). Fry bacon strips until crisp; drain; crumble; and set aside.

In bacon fat, sauté both types of onions and green pepper. When tender, add tomato sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Add salt, sugar and Tabasco. Stir until sugar melts; pour over cabbage and sprinkle with bacon pieces. Serves 4.

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 30 minutes.

-- Submitted by Jan Doolittle

NORWEGIAN POT ROAST

4-pound pot roast

16 ounces tomato sauce

2 cups water

2 envelopes onion soup mix

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

2 whole bay leaves

Flour and brown roast in a small amount of oil. Combine all other ingredients in bowl until mixed; pour over roast and cook slowly 2- 1/2 hours or until tender. Double gravy is serving with mashed potatoes.

-- Submitted by Jan Doolittle

SAUERKRAUT SOUP

2 strips bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, minced

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 pound sauerkraut, drained and rinsed

6 cups beef broth

2 cups diced, peeled potatoes

1 bay leaf

1 pound polish sausage

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté bacon in heavy kettle. Add onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add next 5 ingredients, bring to boil, cover and simmer 35 minutes. Add sausage and simmer 15 minutes. Remove sausage and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Put back in soup, heat and season to taste. Makes 3 quarts.

-- Submitted by Jan Doolittle

EGG AND BACON PIE

Flaky pastry (pie crust), enough for bottom layer and top

3 rashers bacon (about 1- 1/2 strips)

2 teaspoons parsley

1 teaspoon salt

8 shakes pepper

4 to 6 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Milk for glaze plus parsley

Roll out 2/3 pastry and line bottom/sides of tart plate (use deep tart/ pie plate). Line bottom/sides with 2/3 bacon. Sprinkle with half salt, pepper and parsley. Break eggs on top of bacon. Cut each yolk with knife. Pour milk over eggs. Sprinkle with remainder of salt, pepper and parsley. Cover with bacon left over.

Roll out rest of pastry and cover pie. Trim edges and glaze with milk. Make one slit in pastry with knife. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Garnish with parsley. I used these temps for my first one as temps are different in Australia. But always keep a check till pie is a nice golden brown.

-- Submitted by Lynette Faul

Memories and berries

"The April 22 column noted blackberry season's approach, but dewberries are plentiful this year and at the peak of their season. This rainy weather must have been helpful," Necaise said. "Dewberries can be substituted in any blackberry recipe. The dewberries ripen earlier and are larger (that includes the seeds) than blackberries. I include my favorite berry recipe. Seems a bit odd with so much water, but it turns into a wonderful thick syrup consistency, hot or cold.

"This is taken from my family recipe cookbook, "Kiss the Cook,' " Necaise said.

BLACKBERRY (DEWBERRY) COBBLER

1- 1/2 cups plain flour (plus enough to roll out the dough)

3 cups (I often use 4 cups when plentiful) berries

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups boiling water (even though this seems a lot, I do use the entire 2 cups)

1/2 cup shortening

1 stick margarine

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 9-by-13-inch pan in oven with the margarine to melt as it preheats. Don't let the margarine burn, just melt.

In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening. Add milk and mix to form a soft dough. Roll out on generously floured surface into a rectangle about1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the berries over the dough and roll up jelly fashion. Cut the roll into 1- 1/2-inch sections and lay in the pan. (This makes a nice almost lattice-like crust as the cobbler bakes. Don't worry if berries escape as you cut. Just throw them in the pan, too.)

I heat the water in a 3-cup measuring cup, but you can use a bowl. Just remember that you'll be adding the sugar to the water and make sure the container is large enough. Mix the sugar into the boiling water to dissolve. Pour over the dough. Bake in the preheated 350-degree oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hours until the top is golden brown. Serve hot or cold with ice cream or plain. The juice thickens when it cools.

-- Submitted by Pattie Necaise

QVC star

In her April 19 appearance on QVC, Ocean Springs, Miss., native Mary Foreman's cookbook, "Deep South Dish: Homestyle Southern Recipes," sold 10,000 cookbooks in a little more than 10 minutes on the air. She will be on QVC again on May 17 during the "In the Kitchen with David" segment.

Foreman's book currently is ranked in the best-selling cookbooks on amazon.com.

Corn pudding wanted

"Help! I've lost my recipe for corn pudding," Lula E. Griffis said. "Thanks a million."

Please help find

"Several years ago, I had a great recipe for a side dish casserole made with sliced sweet potatoes and apples with a small amount of brown sugar and apple juice," said Bernice Strickland of Bradenton. "I baked it often with our meals. The recipe has been lost, but I wonder if one of your readers might have a similar one and will share it?"

Readers, do you have a sweet potato and apple casserole? If so, please send it to me to share with Strickland and other readers.

Andrea Yeager, can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net and takes requests at Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535.

-4567.

This story was originally published April 29, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cooks exchange: Treasure, share those family recipes."