Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 12, 1994 TAG: 9412140156
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Actually, that is seldom the case; the queries are usually reasonable, interesting and provocative. Answering them, though, sometimes presents one heckuva challenge.
Take, for example, one reader's query as to whether there are any party punches that use cola as a base. It turns out that there are, although it took the Pepsi-Cola Co. at least a couple of months to find the recipes for them.
A representative for the Coca-Cola Co. couldn't find any punches, but had cola-basedwhite Cheddar pasta products and save the pasta for use in soups, salads or with soft cheese.
Ellison said Jolly Time offers a booklet of 20 popcorn recipes, which can be obtained by sending either one Jolly Time Popcorn proof of purchase or 50 cents in coin to Jolly Time Popcorn, P.O. Box 178, Sioux City, Iowa 51102.
A reader's query for a Friendship Starter and Cake - something like a sourdough starter, she explained - eventually yielded two variations with the same basic ingredients in slightly different quantities.
A search for crockpot apple butter found a healthy recipe sans sugar, salt and fat.
The Philippine American Association of Roanoke Valley aided greatly in our quest for "a yellowish cake made with coconut milk and topped with some sort of custard." The reader, who tasted it while in Japan, had been told that the cake was standard Filipino fare.
A call to Atlanta, Ga., located Patrick Clancy, the very cooperative chef/owner of the 57 Fighter Group Restaurant (3829 Clairmont Road), who willingly shared his recipe for "Beer Cheese Soup."
A dig through our recipe morgue for an old-fashioned mayonnaise cake was successful. But then, that recipe ran only a few years ago and was in our computer files. The pumpkin variation, thrown in just for fun because it's fall, is from Karen Sheldon's excellent 62-page pumpkin compendium, "the Pumpkin Cookbook," $3.75, Sheldon Enterprises, P.O. Box 25544, Prescott Valley, Ariz. 86312.
In the "Levering Fruit Cookbook" - delightful and surprisingly comprehensive for such a compact work - we found a recipe for an applesauce cake. With the addition of some dates and a good brandy soaking, it sounds like it could become the "hermit cake," sought by the same reader, which we could not find. The "Levering Fruit Cookbook: A Guide to Preparing Cherries, Peaches, Apples & Other Fruits," is available for $5 plus $1.50 shipping and handling from Orchard Gap Press, Rt. 2; Box 310, Ararat, Va. 24053.
A recipe for "soft dog biscuits, thought to have run about 10 years ago, continues to elude us. The person asking about it remembered that the biscuits were baked at a low temperature and were so tasty that her children would snitch them, which was OK since the biscuits contained rye and whole wheat flours and all healthful ingredients acceptable for human consumption.
Other recipes still among the wanted are for: any flavored liquers; a "snowball cake" that had to be refrigerated for three days before serving and that was made with yellow cake mix and sour cream; an apple pie with a no-roll crust and a filling that included brown sugar and corn meal (instructions were enclosed with Appalachian Power Co. bills in November or December 1991); a broiled Missouri club sandwich with cheese sauce; and a lemon-buttercup pie with custard filling, both served at the now-defunct Miller & Rhoads tea room in Roanoke. If anyone has these recipes, please send me a copy at the Roanoke Times & World-News, Features Dept., P. O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010.
As for a few miscellaneous answers to readers' queries:
Yes, there really is a beefalo. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, it is a hybrid bred from beef cattle and buffalo, with a saturated fat content somewhere between beef's (higher) and bison's (lower). Studies of beefalo's nutritional content and effects on blood cholesterol are still being conducted.
For broiling or grilling purposes, limit fish fillets to about one inch in thickness. Preheat the broiler or grill and cook the fish about three to six inches from the heat, the thinner, the closer. Cooking times average three to 10 minutes per inch.
Fillets will retain their shape better if the skin is left on and removed after cooking, if desired. Turning them usually isn't necessary, but one way to do so without tearing the fish is to place each piece along one side of a length of lightly oiled foil about 2 1/2 times larger than the fillet or steak. To turn, lift the edges of the foil on the side where the fish is and flip the fish over so that it rolls to the opposite side of the foil.
Choosing the "best" computer cookbooks and recipe-management programs depends upon your individual tastes and needs. Lifestyle Software Group spokeswoman Mollie Malloy said one basic consideration is the software's format and whether you have enough space to accommodate it. She said it might be possible to sidestep this restriction by running off floppy disks. Determine how much add-on space is available, if you plan to add your own recipes, and whether you will want to add or edit on the cookbook itself. Lifestyle's programs, and some other companies', include a popular time-saving feature that lets you search by occasion, ingredients, preparation time, or other categories. Two recent Lifestyle additions are "The Southern Living Cookbook CD," a collection on CD-ROM of over 1,300 recipes, color photos, slide shows and illustrative videos, with music and a meal-planning system; and "Micro Kitchen Companion" (CD-ROM and Windows).
Companies' product catalogs will give a broad feel for what's out there. Request Lifestyle's at (800) 289-1157. Or, even better, go to software outlets and examine what's available. Don't hesitate to approach the stores' employees for recommendations or about anything that's unclear.
As a wise observer once said, "The only truly silly question is the one left unasked."
by CNB