Unusual Recipes

Potato, Leek And Cheese Tart    You can use any buttery pie crust recipe for the crust but, I would use frozen crust to speed up prep.  The tart will be cooked in a removable bottom pan so you won't need a pie pan.

QUICK Magic Peach Cobbler    This recipe works well with peaches, blackberries, and cherries.  Try it with your favorite fruit.

Southern Dumplings For Stewed Chicken    Did your mamma make chicken and dumplings?  Mine did and they were so good I still remember them!  That is real comfort food.  Just put the hen in the pot, in the morning and when  she's all done and tender, pull the meat off the bones.  Save the broth to make the dumplings. When the broth is hot slip some of these into the broth, add the chicken and you have a feast!

QUICK Make Your Own Ice Cream Bars    These cake bars cook in 6 minutes and,  you can choose your own flavor of ice cream!  Buy a carton of ice cream and cut it in slices to fit the cake.  You might try other flavors of cake mix, too.    Young children will need supervision with the mixer and hot oven.  Cake can be cut with butter knife.

Unusual, Individual Popover Pancakes    Each pancake is baked and served in it's own pan and served hot and sizzling! Enjoy!                

Skillet Caramel Pie    The sugar is cooked in a skillet until a deep golden (carmel) brown. Hence, the name! NOTE* The use of butter instead of margarine will always give you a richer flavor.

Kentucky Stack Pie    This pie will taste like the old fashioned chess pie.  It will certainly be a hit at your next dinner party!  If you love the crust as much as the filling. this one is for you! Note* The recipe for "Foolproof Chicago Pie Crust". would work well with this recipe, it makes 6 pie crusts.

Old-Timey Molasses Popcorn Balls    This is not a really quick recipe but, it is really good!  Molasses Popcorn balls were a very popular treat when I was a child.  This recipe is so old the syrup is spelled sirup.  We recieved popcorn balls at Halloween for treats, and our costume was granma's old clothes.  ha

Kentucky Stack Cake    This cake is better if layers are filled and stacked while slightly warm.  The cake is not frosted, but filled with applesauce.  The top layer is not covered. NOTE* Sauce made from dried apples cooked would also be good.

Hickory Nut Cake    Only the very fortunate have access to Hickory nuts!  Having cracked many a nut in my youth, I can still remember holding the old flat iron between my knees, the hammer in my hand and the hours of picking out the nut meats.  This was mostly done in the wintertime, by the fire, because there was not much else to do, in rural Kentucky!                        

Mexican Corn Bread Muffins    This recipe makes 36 muffins that are easy to freeze and reheat if, you have any left!

Opossum and Sweet Potatoes    This listed in an old cook book as "good eating."    Gerald Paschall, a life long friend of my husband, remembers eating "possum" (as we call it) in his youth.  He can only remember it tasting blue and cold.  Personally, I have never tasted possum, but I know it can be a vicious animal when cornered.  My grandmother found that out in the barn, when I was a child! NOTE* Opossum may be cleaned by using hot scalding water until all fur is removed. Open body cavity and remove intestines.

Black Walnut And Cabbage Salad    This is an old southern recipe and really unusual.  The flavor of black walnuts is like no other nut and is really rich tasting. NOTE* This would go good with a beef or pork roast, and would add an elegant flavor to venison and lamb.

Beef Brains With Wine Sauce    Yes, you can eat the brains! In the south, fresh pork brains were often scrambled with eggs the next morning after we had killed our hog for the winter meat supply. I have eaten them but, I really can't remember a distinct taste. My grandmother also made "head cheese" or "souse" as it was sometimes called, out of the head meat. It was a loaf with a gelatin base that was sliced and eaten with crackers.

Columbian Beef Tongue   This tongue is prepared as a main dish recipe not a sandwich.  The mushroom gravy with red wine will make this dish stand out. NOTE* The skin and bones will be discarded after cooking.

"You Old Coot" Roasted    The Coot is often mistaken for a duck.  The American Coot has a sharp beak like a chicken and is all black, with a white beak. NOTE* The best way to clean off all the feathers is to skin the bird. Do not try to pick a coot like a chicken.

QUICK Copper Carrot Pennies    This vegetable salad will keep several days refrigerated.

Frozen Cabbage Slaw    This slaw is eaten slightly thawed from the freezer.  It was made years ago at all the summertime family gatherings.

QUICK Waldorf Spiral Apple Salad    The peel from the apple makes the "bowl" for the salad.  Serve it all on a lettuce leaf and,  you have a salad pretty enough to eat! NOTE* Cool Whip could be used in place of cream to speed up prep.

Ship Wreck Casserole    This one is easy!  Put it all in together and look how good it comes out!     NOTE* Bake a loaf of crusty bread to go along with this and a green salad and you have the whole meal.

Old Grandmothers Cottage Cheese    This is an old recipe from the country.  I have not tried it, but my mother told me years ago this was how people used to make it.  You have to remember, This was before refrigerators.  They kept their cold foods in the well bucket, let down.  You could only go to town for supplies once a month or so.

Mini Meat Loaves    For a quick cooking meat loaf this is the way to go!

Deer Meat Jerky    This recipe is a southern favorite since the deer were brought down here.  When I was growing up there were no deer in western kentucky.

German Style Rabbit    This rabbit dish is flavored with pork sausage, wine and beer.  The breadcrumbs thicken the gravy, so this dish has a lot of different flavors.    When we were in Germany, it was spring and the flowers were everywhere!  The people were so courteous, when we walked up to a curb, to cross the street, traffic stopped from both ways!  Baden Baden was especially beautiful.    We loved the food of Germany when we were there and, at the German restaurants in Milwaukee!

Southern Salt Pork and Greens    This is the south at it's best! The greens are good and the "potlikker" I have been told, will cure everything from boils to athletes foot!  (Not really, but it makes a good story)

Baked Quail on Toast    This recipe is simple and simply delicious!

Wild Pheasant on Rice    This recipe can be baked in the oven, or cooked in a pressure cooker to save time.    One of my mothers brothers lived in Michigan.  When we went up to visit, he would kill a pheasant and his wife would make a big pot pie for us.  We really enjoyed the visit and the pot pie!

White Guinea Hen in Casserole    The Guinea Fowl was originally from West Africa and raised chiefly for food.  There are white ones and there are dark grey-lavendar ones with white dots.  The taste is slightly gamey but pleasant.    When I was a child in Kentucky, the neighbors across the road had Guinea hens.  They laid eggs and had almost black feathers.  They looked like a chicken with a bad back! (They are hump backed.) They laid their eggs anywhere on the ground and had to have their wings clipped or they would fly over the fence.   NOTE * You can roll the pieces in bread crumbs or brown them in shortening.  Either way will be good.    

How to Cure a Country Ham    A big southern favorite is the country ham. It is cured with salt, sugar and time!    Hams are cured commercially by a few different companies at this time, and they are good.  But, the taste I remember from my Kentucky times was the ones cured by the local farmers.  They killed the hogs in the fall and cured the hams and sometimes the shoulders, by this method.  It is almost a lost art, and it takes time.  But, the taste is out of this world!

Seasoning for Pork Breakfast Sausage    This seasoning is the amount needed for 1 pound of meat.    The seasonings can be sprinkled over ground pork, or over pork pieces before you grind them.

Roasted Guinea Hen with Wild-Rice Stuffing    A Guinea runs around, head down, making a lot of noise!  They seem to "rattle" as they move about the yard. The hen is much better to eat than the male version.  The meat has a tendency to be dry and tastes better if roasted upside down.    Since they are small birds and only weigh 2 or 3 pounds, it takes two for 4 to 6 servings.

Fried Country Ham and Red Eye Gravy    This is a very thin gravy with a lot of flavor!  It has a red color coming from the ham.  Make some biscuits to go along with the gravy!

Boiled, Broiled, Whole Country Ham    When hams are hung in the smoke house to cure, they are wrapped in heavy brown paper to keep "skippers" from getting on the meat. "Skippers" are little worms, that if left alone will ruin a whole ham!    After the ham has cured, (at least 6 months) it can be cooked any way you want.  One of my favorite ways is boiled whole, in a very large pot!  After boiling, put a crust on, under the broiler.     First you wash and scrub the ham all over to get the mold off!  It's amazing that something that looks that bad, can be that good.

Marinated Venison    None of my deer meat recipes can be classified as old-timey because we didn't have deer to speak of, when I grew up. I can't remember ever seeing one as a child.    But, they are here in abundance now! As we say, the woods are full-of-um!"  We have a set of twins on our property now!  (They just lost their spots.)

Jerked Venison or Beef    This one is super easy. Let the sun do the work.

Turnip Greens With Raw Vegetable Relish    Now you're talking southern! Save the cooking liquid to serve in cups along side the meal. "Pot Likker" as it is called, is good for what ails ya!

Fried Green Tomatoes With Creamy Gravy    It may not sound good, but gravy is good on fried tomatoes.  Ripe tomatoes can be fried too, they just need to be firm.

QUICK Twinkie Cake    Who doesn't like Twinkies?  This one is so easy, the kids can make it for mom and dad! NOTE* Sprinkle a little lemon juice on the banana slices to prevent them from turning brown.

Cheese-Crumbed Cornish Hens    Cornish hens are a great alternative to the usual chicken dinner, and this recipe offers a lot for your taste buds!

Roasted, Slow-Cooked Fresh Ham    This whole ham recipe can also be used for pork shoulder.  It takes some time to bake, but it is easy prep. NOTE* The meat needs to fit close in the pan and, the pan needs a tight fitting lid.

QUICK Energy Bars    These are good for you, easy to transport and, they taste good!

Old Fashioned Apple Pastry Bars    Make your own pastry bars for a quick breakfast on the run.

Homemade Cottage Cheese    The creamy taste of this cheese will make you come back for more!

Pickled Oranges With Green Beans And Peas    This is a great pickle to bring out at the big BBQ or family gathering.  Everyone will love them! NOTE* This will make a quart jar full. Refrigerate for 1 day before using.