Through The Generations

This book is a collection of recipes from family and friends. Some of the recipes are from the Old Country; some are my own concoctions or family inventions.  Some of the recipes date back to the mid-1600s.

In this book, when I refer to salt, I mean kosher salt; you can rub it together with your fingers to make it a finer grind.

For pepper, I mean either coarse-grind or cracked, not what I call “air pepper,” (store pepper). You know, the one that you shake out and it goes all over.

When I make a dish that calls for ground beef, I usually grind my own. I cut it into cubes and put it in a food processor, and grind until it’s what I want. I use round steak.

When I make my own breakfast sausage, I use ground pork that is 30 percent fat. 

To make it easier when making burgers, meatballs, or homemade sausage, wet your hands with cold water after making each patty.

When I say chili powder, I use pure New Mexico Red Chili Powder. Chili flakes are also known as chili caribe in some stores. Whole chilies or chili pods are also from New Mexico, sold either hot, very hot, or mild. This is unlike chili powder you get at the store, which is blended with other spices that are for tacos and chili beans.

If you are trying to keep the calories out of the meal, think about Chipotle chili powder or ancho chili powder for giving flavor to your foods. Also try lemon juice and lime juice instead of salt in your cooking or salads.

An egg wash is eggs scrambled with water or milk, whichever you like, for making coatings stick to whatever you are cooking. It is also used in baking for color on the top crust of pies.

When bananas start to go bad, put them in an airtight container or a zipper bag, mashed, and put in the fridge or freezer. My sister has a bad habit of letting bananas get overripe; she will not eat a ripe banana, and she only eats them green. We use the mashed bananas for banana bread or muffins. I even used them once for pancakes.

Let your waffle batter sit on the counter for ten minutes before using, unless it has beaten egg whites in it.

Learn to make flavored or compound butters for topping fish, steaks, or vegetables. All you need is one stick of butter, softened, and fresh herbs. Good choices are parsley and lemon juice one half teaspoon per stick. Also any one or two of these you like: rosemary, dill, oregano, lemon zest, lime zest, orange zest, lime juice. Not too much juice, or your favorites. Mix together and put in the fridge, or freeze for longer storage, in a container. Use when you need some extra flavor. Lasts at least one month in the fridge. For the freezer, wrap it in foil; lasts one year.

I save most of my vegetable trimmings for soup stock, such as celery, carrot, mushroom stems, onion peeling, apple peeling, tomato insides, spinach stems, stems from herbs, cabbage, garlic peelings, asparagus bottoms, and green onion tops. I store this in my freezer in a plastic produce bag from the market. When three-quarters full, it fits nicely in a six-quart stockpot. Just add water halfway up, stir every twenty minutes or so. Cook on low for three to five hours, then strain and either freeze for three to four months or put in fridge to use in within three days. I make rice or soup with this.

Don’t save bell pepper, lettuce, or cucumber peelings; they make the stock taste funny. This is for vegetable stock.

I save chicken trimmings and the skin in a separate bag in the freezer, to make chicken stock. Just add to the vegetables, and cook the stock for three to five hours on medium to low on the stove. Stir every twenty minutes or so. 

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