tpt-riffic!

We had a great time at the Twin Cities Public Television studios helping with the debut of the tpt Cooks - Hotdish cookbook and program. This is one terrific book. It contains more than 125 great recipes sent in by tpt viewers for wonderful Minnesota hotdishes.

For those of you who are not from this great state, "Hotdish" is Minnesota-speak for casserole, or covered dish, or even "covered dish to share," something we know a lot about here at Potluck Paradise headquarters.

The cookbook not only celebrates the tradition of community support, it is a fund-raising cookbook, too. The book and very nice "tpt cooks" apron are available as gifts for new and renewing members to the tpt community. Such a deal!

Well, we can't go to an event celebrating community and hotdishes without bringing something to share. So we took along these "sea shell cakes" from an 1860s recipe. Actually, I was seizing the opportunity to test a recipe from a food historian project. I have to admit, they were a hit! And so easy to make. You'll find the recipe below.

As to supporting tpt --

The "tpt Cooks - Hotdish" program with cooking demonstrations of several of the hotdishes and musical interludes by the famed "Church Basement Ladies" will air a few more times. So if you are in the greater Twin Cities area, turn to tpt Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30 pm and Thursday, March 8 at 1 in the morning (for you night owls) The program will also air on tpt 2 (channel 17 on Comcast) on Wednesday, March 7 at 6 pm, Saturday, March 11 at 5:30. Tuesday March 13 at 6 pm, Saturday April 21 at 7 pm and Sunday April 22 -- another night owl special -- at 1 am.

You can find information about where to watch at their website along with an opportunity to join and get your own copy of the cookbook. This will get you right to the donate page, the cookbook is in the bottom row. https://www.tpt.org/?a=gifts

1860s Sea Shell Cakes

A bit about the recipe: On Christmas Eve, 1861, Emily Hawley was working as the cook and general maid-of-all-work at her uncle's inn near Coffin's Grove, Iowa. In her diary she described making "52 small tin cakes and one large cake" to feed to the Soldier's Relief social held at the Inn. I found a recipe in an 1860s issue of Prairie Farmer magazine that jumped right out at me. This "cake without eggs" is perfect for December baking when eggs were scarce as chickens did not lay as many as they do in the spring and summer. Also the original recipe specified "bake in small scalloped tins."

These are wonderful cakes. Chewy, slightly sweet, and very satisfying. I've been making these so much that I've used my madeleine pans more in the past two weeks than I have for the fifteen years I've had the pans.

Sea Shell Cake Without Eggs

1 cup sugar
1 cup light creak (half and half)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg OR grated rind of one lemon
2 cups flour

Makes 36 cakes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the sugar and cream in a medium mixing bowl with a spoon or whisk. Add the baking soda and flavoring and mix well. Then stir in the flour. Spray madeleine pans or cupcake tins with non-stick spray. Put about one measuring tablespoon of batter into each shell or cupcake depression. Bake until firm in the center and just pulling away from the sides, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for a minute or two and then remove to a baking rack to finish cooling. You may also make these as mini-cupcakes. Do not make as full-size cupcakes, they will be too dense.

The lemon ones are very nice topped with a light glaze.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a small bowl. Add confectioner's sugar until you have a smooth and runny glaze then drizzle over the cakes.

1968 Exhibit and Great (Cheap) Food

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters the involving and hugely-popular 1968 Exhibit at the Minnesota History Center got us thinking about including a bit of time travel in our National Potluck Month celebrations.

In 1968 I had three cookbooks, two toddlers, and one graduate-student husband. We were living in Iowa City, happy in our apartment while the world twirled around us. I hadn't thought much about that year until I saw the 1968 Exhibit and looked at the on-line supporting materials. It was some year -- and what an excuse for a potluck!

Gather your friends, put on the hits of the year -- Jumping Jack Flash, Stormy, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Hey Jude and have a blast from the past as part of your National Potluck Month celebration. You could even combine the potluck with a visit to the exhibit. But you'd better hurry! The 1968 Exhibit runs through February 20, 2012 before it travels to Atlanta, Chicago, and Oakland. Here's the link for more information: http://www.the1968exhibit.org/about-exhibit

As to food. . . my three cookbooks give a few hints as to what was trending. I had classic red checkerboard covered Betty Crocker for all the basics. Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook for fancy fare. And for the growing interest in international cuisine, The Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking through the Ages with 600 recipes!

As to what we ate. . . well, we had our fair share of grown-in-the-garden meals. The apartment was actually the top floor of an old Victorian house that shared a huge fenced-in yard with another old classic house. Previous owners had put in two apple trees and a grape vine on the fence. Not only could we plant a vegetable garden, we had apples for eating, pies, and sauce -- free for the picking. And grapes for grape jelly.

The neighborhood grocery wasn't open on Sundays. The small store had a full-time butcher and all the meat was on display in the case, not packages. If I went in late on Saturday afternoon -- with the two kids in the stroller -- the meat man would take pity on me and sell me the chuck steak and soup bones he didn't want to carry over until Monday for ten cents a pound! Reduced from thirty cents.
This was back before there were crockpots, so I would cook the soup in my turkey roaster in the oven. That way I didn't have to fret about an open flame cooking for hours when I just might get caught up with kid stuff, or if I accidently nodded off for five minutes.

I could have chopped the meat up into the soup, but usually I pulled about half of it out to make into other meals. I could grind it up with pickles for sandwich spread, combine some of it with a box of frozen mixed vegetables and put it under mashed potatoes for "shepherd's pie," or toss a head of cabbage into the soup toward the end and then have "New England Boiled Dinner."

The soup itself was supper for three nights, rounded out with homemade cinnamon rolls.

It really was groovy eating, great to share with the neighbors downstairs, and a simple way into Potluck Paradise.


Cinnamon Rolls

Note: I've written this recipe with tips for someone who has never worked with yeast dough, so it looks more complicated than it really is.
1/2 cup warm water
1 package instant, quick rise yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
4 to 5 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the filling
1/2 cup butter, more or less
1/2 cup sugar, more or less
2 tablespoons cinnamon, more or less

Make the bread dough by first proofing the yeast. Put the warm water in a large mixing bowl and stir in the yeast and tablespoon of sugar. Let stand until the mixture becomes bubbly. This is how you will know the yeast will work to make the bread rise. While the yeast is proofing, put the milk in a small sauce pan and heat until it just comes to a simmer, with little bubbles showing around he edges. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and sugar. Let stand until lukewarm – less than 100 degrees F. If it is any warmer it will kill the yeast. Stir the milk mixture into the yeast. Add the egg and mix well. Begin adding the flour. Stir in 3 cups with a spoon or fork. Then add another 1 cup. At this point you can begin kneading the flour in with your hands, adding more flour if necessary. Knead until you have a smooth dough. Form into a ball and lightly butter the top. Set aside in a warm place to rise until it is double in bulk. This could take as little as one and as much as two hours.

To make the rolls:
Combine the cinnamon and sugar.
Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll out to a rectangle about 10 by 14 inches. Spread with about 1/4 cup soft butter and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough up tightly from the long side. Pinch the bottom edge firmly into the roll. Slice into 12 rolls, place cut side up in a lightly greased baking pan. Set aside again to rise until double. This will take far less than the first rise, maybe as little as 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and when the rolls are doubled, put in to bake until lightly browned on top. You will know they are done if they sound hollow when you tap them on top. Watch carefully, as the butter and sugar on the roll bottoms does have a tendency to burn.

Additional notes:

If you want rolls with more layers of butter, cinnamon, and sugar, roll the rectangle larger and thinner. You will need more butter and cinnamon sugar, of course, and the bread part of the roll will be thinner when finished, but they are very good that way, too.

This is a lovely bread dough for all kinds of rolls. You can leave out the cinnamon and form the dough into cloverleaf rolls by taking three small balls of dough for each roll and and place them in a muffin pan to bake. For other spiral-type rolls use brown sugar and pecans, or glaze with orange marmalade.

As to kneading in the flour, I’ve discovered it is a good idea to only knead with one hand while the dough is sticky. Then you have a clean hand to scoop out half measuring cups of flour. Once you have all the flour in and a smooth dough. Go at it with both hands. To clean excess sticky dough off your hands, rub them with flour. The dough will flake off nicely and then you can wash up.

On the Air with tpt and a Great Muffin for Later

"Lights! Camera!!! Quiet on the set!!!"
What a way to kick off our self-declared "National Potluck Month!"

There we were, away from laid-back Potluck Paradise headquarters and in the midst of "Hotdish Television Studio On-The-Go" as Twin Cities Public Television ( tpt to those of us who watch and love it) took over the fabulous ALL Appliance store in St Paul for a day-long taping session. The show features seven wonderful hotdishes -- Minnesota's quintessential Potluck food -- casseroles or "covered dishes" to the rest of the country. We prepared one, but you'll have to tune in to see what it is. We're sworn to secrecy. The photo shows all that's left of this wonderful and easy-to-make dish. The show will debut in early March along with the opportunity to get your hands on the first in the series of tpt cookbooks -- tpt Cooks - Hotdish.

Talk about drama, fun, and glamor! And some mystery ingredients!

We got to cook in a wonderful new demonstration kitchen . . saw a few appliances that would fit right in at Potluck Paradise headquarters. The tpt staff were as good a set of prep cooks as any one could want. And we even got our make-up put on with an airbrush -- la-de-DA!

As to the recipes, you'll have to watch the show, or become a Member of tpt and get a copy of the new cookbook to find out. . . We can give a hint or two. The dish we prepared has eight ingredients, can be put together in less than 7 minutes, and bakes in less than half a hour. Interested? And one more hint. . . one of the ingredients is the ever popular crushed potato chips.

We'll leave it at that, but here's a great recipe you can enjoy right now.


These tasty, healthy muffins are the perfect compliment to any hotdish. Low fat and low sugar, the trick of combining the cornmeal with the warm milk to swell the grains, makes a rich corn taste with a "non-gritchy" texture. You can use all dates or all dried cranberries, but here at Potluck Paradise headquarters, we like the mixture.

Cranberry Date Cornmeal Muffins

1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries and dates, mixed
about 1 cup hot water
1 1/4 cups milk, could be non-fat
2 tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg. lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the dried fruits and water in a microwave-save dish and microwave until fruits are softened -- about two minutes at half power work in my large microwave. Set aside to cool, then drain off the water. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the brown sugar and butter, stirring until well combined. Then gradually stir in cornmeal. Mix until there aren't any lumps and set aside to cool to lukewarm. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Stir in the cornmeal mixture, the drained dates, and egg. Mix well. The batter will be fairly thick. Spoon in to lightly greased muffin tins and bake until firm and lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Yield: 12 3-inch "regular" muffins and 12 mini-muffins. Or 18 of the 3-inch size.

Patriots Super Snack

Here's the second contender in our Super selection of game-day snacks. This is for the New England Patriots fans. Your guests will love filling this delicious traditional New England Baked Corn Cake baked corn cake with shredded beef and cranberry filling, then topping it with a sunny apple relish. It has all the elements for a winning dish.

This is Potluck Paradise at its finest. Make-ahead easy, tasty heated or at room temperature, and even healthy. Low fat and low sodium, but your guests will never know. Even New York Giants fans will like it.

Baked Corn Cakes
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the cornmeal into a medium-sized, heat-proof bowl, slowly pour in the boiling water, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool. Mash the cooled cornmeal mixture with a fork to break it up. Stir in the sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Combine the melted butter, egg, and milk, mixing well, and stir into the cornmeal mixture. Then add the flour. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with non-stick spray. Form corncakes about 3 inches in diameter by pouring about 1 1/2 measuring tablespoons of batter on the sheet. Cakes will spread as they bake, so allow 2 inches between them. I could get 8 corncakes on my 11 by 18 baking sheet. Bake until cakes are lightly browned on the bottom and firm on the top, about 5 to 7 minutes. Then flip and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. If the cakes don’t lift off immediately and easily they are not ready to flip.
Note: You can also cook these in a frying pan, but the cakes come out thicker. Just as tasty, though.
Yield: about 18 3-inch corncakes. Recipe may be doubled

Cranberry Barbecued Beef
2 1/2 cups shredded left over pot roast, New England boiled beef,
or a hunk of deli roast beef, shredded
1 14-ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 cup apple cider

Combine all the ingredients in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture cooks down with hardly any liquid sauce left.

Apple Slaw
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 apples such as Gala, Cortland, or Jazz

Combine the vinegar and sugar in a 1-quart saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Grate the apple, peel and all, on the large side of a box grater. Add the apple to the hot liquid and stir to mix. Drain before serving.


Copyright 2012, Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved.

Super Game -- Super Treats Part I

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters we’re getting the jump on our second annual self-declared “February is National Potluck Month” with some tasty snacks for “the big game.” We have a special dish in honor of each of the two contenders – They are so good, they’re downright Super! Bowls will be filled with them.

Giant’s Lean-Mean Lemon Cheesecake is a no-bake, low-fat treat that will give even the Patriots their just desserts. Scroll down for the recipe.

For the Patriot fans, we’ll have historic New England Corn Cakes topped with Cranberry-Sauced Beef and Tangy Apple Slaw. It packs a giant of a taste in a small mouthful. More than enough to wave the flag about. Look for our next posting in a couple of days!

We have even more delicious eating and great ideas planned for the rest of our National Potluck Month celebration. If ever a month defined potluck, February is it. Days are quiet. Company is gone. Holidays are over, spring is coming, but not soon enough. The weather is capricious. Up here in Minnesota we’re yearning for some real snow, if only for a few days.

February is a time to make the most of what you have. To share good times with friends, family, and co-workers and to find your own bit of Paradise in a fun-filled Potluck, if only for an hour or two.

We'll be celebrating four potlucks this month. Watch for posts with recipes and ideas. But here's a hint of the themes: We'll start with some more thoughts on The Big Game played on February 5 -- the super Sunday. The middle of the month is Valentine's Day and we'll party while keeping our hearts healthy. Game Night will look at a couple of great new card games that were in our Christmas stockings and some treats to go with them. Finally, we'll round out the month with a look back at 1968, celebrating the groovy exhibit at the Minnesota History Museum. Follow us all month at http://potluckparadise.blogspot.com/

So here’s the first recipe to start the month --

Giant’s Lean-Mean Lemon Cheesecake

Recipe makes 18 muffin-sized cheesecakes (1/3 cup size) or 36 mini-muffin size
Line muffin pans with paper cupcake liners.

To Make the Crust
Melt in a microwave for about 30 seconds, repeat for 5 second intervals if needed:
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Add: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Stir with fork until well blended and then put 2 tablespoons (1 tablespoon for the mini-muffins) of mixture in the paper muffin cups and press firmly with a flat-bottom glass or the back of a spoon. Set aside.

To Make the Lemonade filling.

1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
12-ounce frozen concentrated lemonade, thawed
grated rind of 2 large lemons
3 8-ounce packages non-fat cream cheese (24 ounces total)

Mix the sugar and corn starch in a 1 to 2 quart saucepan. Gradually stir in the lemonade concentrate. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns clear and is very, very thick. Stir in the lemon rind and set aside to cool. Plop cooled lemonade mixture into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Beat until smooth with electric mixer. Add cream cheese and beat until blended. Spoon mixture onto crust and place in refrigerator to firm. Ready to eat in about 1 hour. Keeps covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Before serving garnish with whipped cream, a dab of chocolate sauce and a pecan, a cherry, or any other topping you like.