Friday Five for Free (7)

I mentioned somewhere that I have an enormous collection of cookbooks I inherited. This week was "super clean the kitchen" week and that included dusting/wiping down the books. (They're on a shelf in the breakfast nook.) So, in honor of that, here are 5 free 50s recipes - all from cookbooks from the 50s, but with minor adaptations for today's cooking. :) (More in full post.)


Chocolate Fudge:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup butter (margarine doesn't work so well here, sadly)
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Mix sugar and cocoa together in a saucepan. Add in butter, milk and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly. You might need to reduce the heat a little - as long as the mixture keeps boiling for the 3 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and set in a pan of cold water. The recipe says, "When you can hold your hand on the bottom of the pan, the syrup is cool enough." This usually only takes a few minutes, but don't burn yourself!

3. Stir in the remaining ingredients and spread in a lightly greased 8-inch square pan. Chill and cut into squares.

My kids like to make this one and we've given it as part of gifts before. It's very sweet, so I always cut the squares pretty small.



Potato Pancakes:

(requires a blender)
3 eggs
5 or 6 medium sized potatoes, pared
3 slices onion (I often just put in 3/4 cup of my pre-chopped and frozen onion)
1 tablespoon parsley
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt. (Original recipe says 1 1/2 teaspoon.)

1. Put eggs in blender. Cut potatoes in wedges and add a handful at a time, pulsing to shred. Add onion. Blend until all vegetables are cut fine.

2. Add parsley, flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend just to mix.

3. Fry in a hot skillet. I put a scant tablespoon of oil in the pan. The original recipe called for bacon drippings.

These are really good with a traditional side of applesauce. Makes about 10 - 12 pancakes.



Oven Stewed Corn:

4 cups corn (cut from cob, or thawed from frozen)
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter

1. Cut the corn from cob and put into lightly buttered baking dish. Add the milk and salt and pepper.

2. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and add the butter.

Note: If you have any left-over bell pepper to use up, you can chop it and add to the corn before baking.

Makes about 6 servings.



Baked Macaroni and Cheese:

8 oz elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (I've used powdered and results are fine)
1/2 lb. grated American cheese
1 cup bread crumbs (1 to 2 slices of bread whirled in the blender)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook macaroni in boiling water until just tender. Don't overcook. Drain and pour into greased baking dish.

2. While the pasta cooks, make a white sauce of butter, flour, milk and seasonings by cooking over medium heat until smooth and just starting to bubble. Add 2/3 of the cheese and stir until melted.

3. Pour cheese sauce over noodles and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese. Dust with bread crumbs.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Note: 1 1/2 cups canned, diced tomatoes can be added if desired. Makes about 6 servings.



Hawaiian Ham:

1 large fully cooked ham steak, 1 inch thick
4 pineapple rings, from can, reserve juice
2 cooked or canned sweet potatoes, sliced
1/8 cup brown sugar
Prepared mustard

1. Cut ham into 4 servings. Spread each piece with a scant amount of mustard and place in a greased baking dish.

2. Top each piece with a pineapple slice and 1/4 of the sweet potatoes. Pour pineapple juice over all and sprinkle with brown sugar.

3. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 30- 35 minutes, or until heated through.