Vintage Traditions - Judith and Kristy - September 2011

We started off our 2011- 2012 round of Gourmet Club last week at Kristy's house. It was the perfect weather for an outdoor evening! The theme was 'Vintage Traditions' and they had made the whole menu up with recipes from all of our ancestors. It was such a creative idea and a unique take on how we normally do things. Everyone submitted at least one recipe from a great Grandmother or distant relative. Then Kristy and Judith went to cooking and baking to figure out which ones they wanted to use for the night.

The table was set down on her basement patio and was decorated with every vintage touch imaginable. Apparently Kristy's neighbor owns Dear Lizzie and has all the goods, lucky them!

The place settings were perfect vintage china and fun scrapbook paper for place mats.

The table cloth was from a previous time they hosted and had an additional lace cloth over the top.

Name tags were darling. A bicycle built for two with a votive candle, love it!

We started off with a Frappe from Kim's Grandma. Delish and very refreshing.

The dinner menu consisted of:

Michelle's submitted her Grandma's cheese ball recipe for our appetizer and it didn't disappoint.

Chicken Crepes from Holly's Grandma

A great Swiss from Kristy's Grandmother.

Roladen from Kristy's other Grandma

Broccoli Cheese Soup from Shelly's Grandma

They also decided to serve buffet style for another twist on the evening.

I wish I could say that I finished it all, but I just couldn't! Good thing to because there were FOUR desserts!

Our hosts! Judith's sister joined us for the evening helping out and enjoying the fun!

Palate cleanser was Slush from Kim's Grandma.

We welcomed Sunny yet another partner, Suzy. Suzy has done a Gourmet club in California for the past 7 years, so she is no greenie. We are thrilled to have her. After resting and digesting for a bit we braced ourselves for dessert.

Lemon Ice Box Pie from Annika's Great Grandma

Chocolate Layer Dessert from Lindsay's Grandma

Apricot Dessert Bars from Sunny's Grandma.

And... Apple Crisp from Suzy's friend.

Wow!

Kristy's wall was perfect for our theme with lots of old pictures of ancestors.

They sent us each home with a cute vintage frame of choice and all our yummy recipes to try.

Back: Annika, Amber, Sunny, Heather, Suzy, Lindsay, Judith

Front: Kristy, Kim, Michelle, Holly

Another perfect night with a great crowd!

Frappe

Grandma Washburn (Kim)

1 qt vanilla ice cream

1 qt lime sherbet

1 46 oz can pineapple juice

1 large bottle Sprite

Whip together all ingredients

Swiss Salad

Grandma Schellenberg (Kristy)

Chop red leaf lettuce (very finely shredded)

Place diced tomatoes and sliced radishes, and green onions on top of lettuce

Drizzle dressing on top

(canola oil, apple vinegar, “Maggi” or Soy sauce, & horseradish mustard)

There are no specific measurements for the dressing ingredients, just “what looks right”. For authentic Swiss taste use “Maggie”. Soy sauce is our closest equivalent if you can’t make it to a specialty store. Wisk all dressing ingredients together.

Toss salad and serve

Cheese Ball

Grandma Dunfield (Michelle)

1-5 oz jar of Kraft Old English cheese

1-5 oz jar of Kraft Roca Blue cheese (I’ve heard they quit making it so you can use the pineapple flavor instead)

1-8 oz cream cheese (softened)

2 tsp dehydrated onion

¾ cup crushed pineapple

½ cup walnuts or pecans chopped

Break up dehydrated onions into small pieces and then hydrate with about 1-2 tbsp of water. Drain pineapple, try to get most of the juice out. Mix together chesses then add onions and pineapple. You can form into balls, fun shapes or just put in container for easier storage and transporting to the pool! Top with nuts and serve with crackers or veggies.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Grandma Thompson (Shelly)

1 1/2 bunch broccoli, chopped

3 T margarine

1/4 c. onion, chopped

3 T. flour

2 c. chicken broth

2 c. light cream

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 c. cheddar cheese, grated

Cook broccoli, melt margarine in heavy pan, add onion and cook until clear. Stir in flour. Slowly add broth and cream. Stir and cook. Add salt & nutmeg and cooked broccoli. Just before serving stir in cheese.

Serves 6

Chicken Crepes

Grandma Plowman (Holly)

1 stewed chicken (approx. 4 chicken breasts)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup water chestnuts or almonds

Parsley

1 T green onions

1 can mushrooms

Use half can of each of the soups and mix with other ingredients. Roll up in crepes. Mix remaining soup with 1 cup sour cream and a small amount of milk. Pour over crepes. Top with parmesean and grated cheese. Bat at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Makes 14.

Crepes:

3 whole eggs

1 cup sifted flour

½ t salt

1 ¼ cup milk

¼ cup water

2 T melted butter

Combine all ingredients and beat until batter is smooth. Cover bowl and let stand at room temperature for 1 hr.

Rolladen

Grandma Kerksiek (Kristy)

Ingredients:

Thinly cut beef (rolladen style) from the meat department

Dill pickle spears

Bacon slices

Yellow onions

Mustard (yellow or horseradish)

Directions:

Lay meet flat and layer drizzled mustard, bacon slice, raw yellow onion, and pickle spear on top. Roll up.

Place in frying pan and brown on all sides.

Bake in oven baking dish for one hour at 350 degrees.

Top with sautéed yellow onions & (mushrooms if desired)

Serve hot

Chocolate Layer Dessert

Grandma Manning (Lindsay)

Mix together and press in bottom of 9 X 13 pan and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees:

1 C flour

1/3 C margarine or butter

½ C chopped nuts

¼ t salt

Cool.

Cream:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 C powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

Fold 1 C cool whip into creamed mixture and spread this over cooled nut mixture.

Blend:

2 pkgs. Instant chocolate pudding with 3 C milk. Spread this on top of creamed mixture. Top with more cool whip and shaved chocolate and nuts, if desired.

Lemon Ice Box Pie

Grandma Hill (Annika)

2 ½ cups crushed vanilla wafers

4 Tlb margarine, softened

½ cup lemon juice plus a little grated lemon rind (1 t.)

1 cup sugar

6 eggs, separated

2 cups whipping cream

Place crushed wafers in bowl and work in margarine until well mixed. Place half the crumbs in 13x9x2 pan. Reserve remaining crumbs for topping. Heat lemon juice with sugar until sugar is dissolved. Beat egg yolks until light and add to lemon mixture. Cook and stir until mixture is smooth and thick. 10-15 minutes. Cool.

Beat egg whites w/ 1/8 tsp. tartar till foamy then add 4 T. sugar plus pinch of salt to soft peaks. Then beat cream with 4 T. sugar. Fold egg whites in first and then cream into lemon mixture. Pour into pan lined with wafers. Then top with reserved crushed wafers. Freeze for 24 hours.

Apricot Dessert Bars

Grandma Fielding (Sunny)

Mix together:

2 1/2 c drained apricots (save juice, see below)

3/4 c sugar

1/4 c apricot juice

Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or slightly thickened. Cool

Sift together:

2 c flour

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp soda

cream together 3/4 cup butter, gradually add in 1 cup sugar. Cream well! Blend in dry ingredients to form a crumb mixture.

Stir in:

1 1/2 c shredded coconut

1/2 c chopped walnuts

Press 3 cups of crumb mixture in bottom and halfway up sides of greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 400 for 10 min.

Spread apricot mixture over crust, and sprinkle with remaining crumb. Continue baking 20-25 min or until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

Apple Crisp Topping

Sandy Evertsen (Suzy)

1 time 3 times

1-1/4 c. brown sugar 3-3/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. flour 3 c. flour

1 c. oats 3 c. oats

1-1/2 tsp cinnamon 4-1/2 tsp cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp nutmeg 1-1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt 1-1/2 tsp salt

2/3 c. butter,slightly soft 2 c. butter, slightly soft

Apples, Granny Smith Apples, Granny Smith

Mix dry ingredients and then chop up butter and

mix with your hands till crumbly. Spread thickly

on top of apples and bake 45 mins @ 375 degrees.

Serve and top with ice cream (or whipped cream

or carmel, etc.)

I think I also add coarsly chopped nuts . I love

lots of nuts! :)

Sweet Cream Biscuits

Grandma Ickes (Judith)

1 cup cream

1/2 cup milk

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Flour, enough to make stiff dough (about 2 1/2 cups)

Mix ingredients together. Press out to 1 inch thick. Dip glass in four and cut or just drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake in 400 degrees oven and watch closely as it only takes about 10 minutes.