Starburst Cookie Recipe by Ruth Paget

Starburst Cookie Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Makes 12 cookies 

Ingredients: 

-1/2 cup softened butter 

-1/4 cup sugar 

-1 tablespoon almond extract 

-2 mashed, hard-boiled egg yolks 

-1 cup flour 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Blend butter, sugar, and almond extract together in a bow. 

3-Add hard-boiled egg yolks to butter mixture and blend thoroughly. 

4-Add flour to egg mixture and blend thoroughly. 

5-Use two spoons to scoop and push cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

6-Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a rack. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Iowa's Catering Classics by Ruth Paget

Iowa’s Catering Cuisine by Ruth Paget 

Crossing the Mississippi River from Wisconsin to DuBuque (Iowa) is a rather enchanting experience, because the road is elevated downtown and passes through a forest of church spires that are level with the car. Houses along the way are substantial and remind you that the Amish and Mennonites worship at home. 

Immigrants to Iowa have included Germans, Dutch, Czechs, and the Swiss. They have overseen the production of food that feeds the United States and the world with the production of corn, oats, soybeans, hogs, beef cattle, popcorn, poultry, and dairy products according to the Best of the Best from Iowa Cookbook edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. 

This cookbook has many traditional recipes that could be catered by personals chefs for extra cash. Some of the farm dishes that I thought would work well for catering include: 

-baked Reuben dip made with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, sour cream, brown mustard, onions, cream cheese, and corned beef 

-chive and black pepper corn bread 

-Depression-era potato soup made with potatoes, onions, celery, noodles, and evaporated milk 

-Dutch lettuce made with potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, lettuce, chopped onion, and bacon 

-spinach salad with bacon -blue cheese-artichoke salad 

-marinated tomatoes which are chilled 

-marinated green beans which are chilled 

-cabbage and apple slaw with walnuts 

-card club chicken salad made with chicken, macaroni, boiled eggs, carrots, peas, celery, onions, green pepper, and pimientos

-garden club salad made with chicken, water chestnuts, grapes, celery, almonds, sour cream, mayonnaise, curry powder, and pineapple chunks 

-corn cheese casserole 

-sour cream and cheddar supreme potatoes

-baked stuffed tomatoes made with chives, mushrooms, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese 

-asparagus the Dutch way made with asparagus, potatoes, smoked ham, eggs, and nutmeg 

-ham, cabbage, and noodle casserole 

Recipes for these classic dishes and 400 more can be found in Best of the Best from Iowa edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. 

Happy Reading! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Light Lunch Wisconsin by Ruth Paget

Light Lunch Wisconsin by Ruth Paget

If you ask someone what a light lunch in Wisconsin is they might tell you, “A locally brewed beer and a bretzel” or “a strong black coffee and a pastry.” 

Then, they would wax philosophical and say, “Just appetizers, a casserole, or a spread or dip in small portions, especially in cold weather.”

I agreed with those statements and felt like it snowed nine months of the year when I lived in Wisconsin. Nine months may be too many, but seven months of snow was close to accurate. I do like high-calorie foods like those above in cold weather I have to admit. 

The immigrant groups who have come to Wisconsin have many dishes of German, Polish, Scandinavian, and Irish origin that are great winter fare. There are recipes for of all these immigrant groups in the cookbook The Best of the Best of from Wisconsin Cookbook edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. 

Some of my favorite dishes from this cookbook include: 

-creamy horseradish ham roll-ups

-beer spread made with cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, and beer 

-mini Reuben sandwiches made with rye bread, sour cream, corned beef, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese 

-baked cheese wings with Parmesan 

-cheddar jalapeño corn bread 

-cheese drop biscuits 

-Danishes made with jam 

-Norwegian sour cream waffles with apple pecan topping 

-Dusseldorfer sandwiches made with rye bread, tarter sauce, dill pickles, liverwurst slices, and Swiss cheese 

-Wisconsin beer cheese soup made with 5 cups of cheddar cheese

 -Polish noodles with cabbage 

-New Glarus cheese and onion pie from a recreated Swiss village town 

-Lithuanian Kugela made with bacon, onion, potatoes, milk, and eggs 

-Potatoes Romanoff made with cheese, sour cream, onion, and shredded cheese 

-Colcannon, an Irish dish, made with heavy cream, garlic, chopped cabbage, and leeks 

-chicken Calvados made with apple schnapps 

These delicious dishes give a good idea of what you make in severe weather to stay warm. Chefs and people of German and Eastern European heritage might especially enjoy Best of the Best from Wisconsin Cookbook edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Trips to Clasen's European Bakery by Ruth Paget

Trips to Clasen’s European Bakery by Ruth Paget After breakfast on Saturday mornings in DeForest (Wisconsin), I would take my family on a field trip to the other side of town to Middleton where Clasen’s European Bakery is located. 

Middleton is where my mom grew up. I thought it was most civilized for having an artisanal bakery like the ones we went to when we lived in Paris, France. 

Clasen’s is a family bakery that was set up 50 years ago according to its website by Ralph and Ernst Clasen. Ralph’s daughter Michelle studied pastry in Germany and now keeps the family business going at Clasen’s. 

Wisconsin is home to German jause, light meals or strong coffee with pastries. On Sundays, we ate breakfast and did a jause mid-morning with strong Lavazza espresso made with our stainless steel espresso maker with a milk frother. (The milk frother broke from overuse.) Our Eurocrat jause standard pastry was Clasen’s pecan-cinnamon rolls. 

Other items I would buy as a Sunday dessert included slices of cherry cream cheese coffee cake, Black Forest torte, and German chocolate cake. The vanilla cakes were divine, too.

Clasen’s did some custom baking for me at Easter when I would order a chocolate lamb cake with white buttercream frosting. 

Laurent would wander and choose different kinds of rolls to try. The French have a cheese for every day of the year, and the Germans have a bread for every day of the year. So, Laurent was in a bread candy store. He loved going to Clasen’s 

What is really great about Clasen’s now is that you can order and pay online and get delivery within the continental U.S. 

I have to admit that when I was going to Clasen’s all those many years ago that I had no idea I would live in Germany one day. Supporting Clasen’s European Bakery certainly helped me adjust to life in Germany, because the bread and pastries were the same. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Lemonade Pie Recipe by Ruth Paget

Lemonade Pie Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

For Crust: 

-3 tablespoons butter 

-1½ cups coconut 

For Filling: 

-1 cup evaporated milk 

-1 (1-ounce) envelope gelatin 

-1/4 cup cold water 

-1/2 cup boiling water 

-2/3 cup sugar 

-6 ounces lemon juice 

Steps: 

1-Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet. Add coconut and stir over medium heat until coconut is golden brown. 

2-Press coconut mixture firmly on the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Let stand at room temperature until cool. 

3-Chill evaporated milk in an ice tray until almost frozen around the edges. 

4-in a 3-quart bowl, soften the gelatin in cold water. Add boiling water and stil until the gelatin is dissolved. Add sugar and lemon juice and stir. 

5-Chill the mixture until it is thick in the refrigerator, but not set. 

6-Whip evaporated milk until stiff. Mix evaporated milk with the thickened gelatin. 

7-Pour lemon-milk mixture into the coconut shell. 

8-Chill the pie in the refrigerator for about 3 hours. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Sugar Drop Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget

Sugar Drop Cookie Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Makes 24 Cookies 

Ingredients: 

-2½ cups flour 

-1 cup sugar 

-2 beaten eggs 

-1 teaspoon almond extract 

-1 cup softened butter 

-1 egg white beaten stiff 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. \

2-Mix flour and sugar together. 

3-Mix eggs and almond extract together. Combine eggs with flour mixture and blend thoroughly. Add in beaten egg white and stir. 

4-Drop cookies using one spoon to scoop and the other to push onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

5-Bake for 10 to 12 minutes and cool on a rack. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Stuffed Flank Steak Recipe by Ruth Paget

Stuffed Flank Steak Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

-4 tablespoons butter 

-1/2 cup chopped onion 

-3/4 cup chopped celery 

-1/2 cup chopped celery leaves 

-1 (4-ounce) can drained sliced mushrooms 

-1 teaspoon salt 

-1 teaspoon pepper 

-1 teaspoon thyme 

-4 tablespoons chopped parsley 

-2 cups crumbled blue cheese crackers 

-1/4 cup milk 

-1 2-pound flank steak 

-1 cup water 

Steps: 

1-Sauté onions and celery in butter in a sauce pan. Add celery leaves, mushrooms, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, crumbled blue cheese crackers, and milk. 

2-Pound steak to a ¼-inch thickness. Score one side. Spread sauce on unscored side. Roll and secure with toothpicks or string. 

3-Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 

4-Brown meat on all sides in fat in a shallow baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. 

5-Place meat in a covered pan. Lower heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for 1½ to 2 hours or until tender. Slice and serve with pan juices. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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