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.

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.