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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1962)
I like this recipe “best of all”! From literally thousands of recipes these five home economists had to choose one—and it wasn’t easy! “YVhat is your favorite recipe?” Ask a home economist and you’re apt to get fifteen recipes which she will swear are all favorites! To select one, just one, is certainly difficult to someone who sees new, exciting foods every day — and loves them all! But when the decision had to he made, these women selected their* favorites much the same way you would: not on the basis of personal taste, but by remembering which foods were especially loved by their families and friends. Here they are. Ann Pillsbury’s favorite: CREPES Ruth Andre, better known as Ann Pillsbury, di rector of Pillsbury’s Home Service Center, says her dilemma is not what to serve, but which one of her many favorites. From Pillsbury’s Minneapolis office, she has tasted recipes from all over the country at Pillsbury s annual Bake-Off. Rather than select just one from the hundreds of Bake-Off winners, she delved into Pillsbury’s European Recipe Exchange and brought out a famous French delicacy made American convenient: crepes. 2 beaten eggs l cup milk 3 tablespoons melted butter ¥2 teaspoon salt V* cup sifted all-purpose flour Combine eggs, milk, butter and salt. Add flour, blending to make a thin, smooth batter. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Brush with butter. Pour batter, 2 tablespoons at a time, into a hot skillet. Tilt pan to make a 6-inch round, thin pan cake. Brown about 1 minute. Brown other side. Place a tablespoon of the desired filling on each crepe; roll up ana place ina9x9orllx 7-inch bak ing dish. Top with creamed shrimp or crabmeat for main dish or with orange sauce for dessert. Marguerite Gustafson chose: APRICOT CHOCOLATE TORTE “Apricot-Chocolate Torte takes the cake for ease,” says Marguerite Gustafson, Director of the American Dairy Association’s Home Economics De partment. “Because I’m a home economist, guests expect my desserts to be especially glamorous. By splitting and layering this simple butter cake, I can fashion a delicacy that’s as pretty as a centerpiece!” Here’s her recipe: 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 1W cups sugar 3 eggs I teaspoon vanilla 3 cups sifted cake flour tW teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt l cup milk Butter and flour three round, 9-inch cake pans; set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Sift dry ingredi ents; add to creamed mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Divide batter equally between three pans and bake 25 minutes in a 350° oven. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans onto cake racks. Cool. With a sharp knife split each layer in half. Spread Chocolate Custard Filling between layers and top with Apricot Glaze. Lightly frost sides with Chocolate Custard Filling. If desired, refrigerate until serving time. CHOCOLATE CUSTARD FILLING Vi cup sugar 4 Hi» I cup (2 sticks) butter Vi cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled I teaspoon vanilla Combine sugar and eggs in top of double boiler and heat, stirring constantly, until thick and amber colored. Cool. Cream butter; blend in chocolate and vanilla. Add butter mixture to eggs, beating until well mixed. Sufficient to fill 5 thin layers and frost sides of torte. Should the custard become stiff while chilled, beat it smooth again with a rotary hand beater. APRICOT GLAZE Vi cup apricot jam 1 tablespoon cornstarch M cup cold water 1 tablespoon lemon juice W teaspoon salt Combine ingredients in saucepan and heat, stir ring constantly, until thick. Cool. Top the torte at the last minute. Helen Britt's best-liked recipe: TOLL HOUSE MARBLE SQUARES Helen Britt is Director of Home Economics and Consumer Service at the Nestle Company in White Plains, New York. A sometimes traveler to Europe to visit the Nestle plants overseas, she often brings back elegant dishes to adapt to American cookery. But in her modem Colonial nome in the Westchester region of New York, she says her entertaining “takes an informal turn.” She serves America’s favorite cookie — with a new twist! 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted flour Vi teaspoon baking soda Vi teaspoon salt Vi cup soft butter 6 tablespoons granulated sugar 6 tablespoons brown sugar Vi teaspoon vanilla V* teaspoon water i *n Vi cup coarsely chopped walnuts 1 6-ounce package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate morsels Preheat oven to 375°. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and set aside. Blend butter, sugars, vanilla and water. Beat in the egg; add flour mixture, mix ing well. Stir in the nuts. Spread on a buttered 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Sprinkle the chocolate morsels over top of dough. Place in oven 1 minute. Remove from oven and run knife through dough to marble ize. Return to oven and continue to bake, at 375° 12 to 14 minutes. Cut in two-inch squares; recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies. Bernadine Landsberg selected: HERB ’N SPICE BUNS Bemadine Lands berg, Home Service Director for Red Star Yeast, considers herself fortunate to have a job which ties in with so many pleasant memories. “One of my childhood’s best-of-all days was coming home from school on baking day," she recalls. “In the fragrant kitchen, the table would Ik* covered with cooling, crusty loaves, fat buns shining with butter, and coffee cakes with their cinnamon-sugar toppings." A favorite for her busy days now is a bread that takes no kneading. Just stir the dough, let it rise, and pour it into muffin cups for the second rising. Result: light, savory dinner rolls. 2Vt cup* sifted all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar Vi teaspoon salt Vs teaspoon powdered or crumbled leaf sage Hi teaspoons caraway seeds Vi teaspoon nutmeg Vs cup scalded milk or warm water 2 tablespoons soft butter l egg, room temperature 1 package special active dry yeast Vs cup warm water Measure flour and seasonings together and blend. Scald the milk. Pour if into a bowl with butter. Cool to lukewarm and stir in tbe egg. Pour the yeast into warm water. I^et it stand a few minutes. Stir and add to milk mixture with half of the dry ingredients. Beat until smooth, about 50 strokes. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat again — 50 more strokes. Scrape down batter from sides of bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes, or until doubled. Meanwhile, butter 12 large or 18 me dium-sized muffin cups. Stir down raised batter. Spoon into muffin cups, filling K full. Let rise again until batter reaches tops of cups, 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°. Bake rolls 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly on rack before serving. Makes 12 to 18 buns. Grace Manney remembered: DOWN EAST FRUIT COOKIES Grace Manney, Home Economics Consultant to Penick and Ford, has an envied position: she runs her own test kitchen, is consultant to several food companies including the manufacturers of Brer Rabbit Molasses. Her down-to-earth cure for all the little ailments of daily living: setting a batch of bread. But for “best of all,” she thought of Down East Fruit Cookies. A favorite, she says, “because during all the years people have been bringing their children to visit my kitchen, the children seem to like these fruity cookies best.” 7 cup butter I Vi cups sugar t eggs, beaten Vs cup molasses 2 tablespoons water JM cups flour (about) 7 teaspoon soda Vs teaspoon salt Vt teaspoon cinnamon Pinch cloves 7 cup chopped walnuts H cup chopped raisins H cup diced mixed glace fruit Cream butter and sugar until fluffy; combine eggs, molasses and water. Combine two mixtures and mix thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients together and add. Stir in nuts and fruits; mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet; bake iq a moderate oven, 390° about 15 minutes! Frost if desired.