THE ORANGE CAKE STORY The recipe was given to my mother, Rozellah, by a seemingly ancient lady from her home town.
Mama made the cake twice a year, once for the Haning family reunion and once for Christmas. That went on for several years.
Then, in 1950, the Pillsbury Bake-Off grand prize winner was a very similar cake. It was called "Orange Kiss-me Cake".
The winning cake contained two ingredients that my mother's did not have, cinnamon and walnuts. And I don't believe it was
made with buttermilk. I have never tried baking either recipe but maybe I'll make a cake from Mama's recipe for Thanksgiving
this year, when all my children and grandchildren are assembled. I can't imagine the one containing walnuts and cinnamon
tasting any better than Mama's did. Modern cooks have soft tub margarine, so the step of softening the butter can
be skipped. To make her special cake, Mama clamped an old-fashioned sausage grinder to the kitchen table. To make
sure it was clean enough to grind the fruit, she put several slices of stale bread through it.
NOTE - November 23, 2000 Well, I did try to make the orange cake for dinner today. It looked right, smelled right,
and tasted right at first. Then there was the bitter taste of orange rind. I am not sure what was wrong. Maybe it was the
blender not grinding the peel as fine as a sausage grinder would, maybe it was the fact that oranges are much bigger these
days and there was too much peel, or maybe the oranges had some of that bitter red food coloring applied to make them look
more appetizing. Since my trial did not work, I invite any of you culinary experts to make adjustments in the recipe and
let me know if you come up with something that works.
AUNT RUBY'S 6 IN 1 CASSEROLE (from my great-aunt Ruby Petty Holcomb) 1/2 cup raw rice 1 and 1/2 cups water
1 cup sliced carrots 1 cup sliced potatoes 1/2 cup chopped onions 1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds ground chuck (browned
and, if desired, made into small balls) 1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce In a two-quart casserole with tight-fitting
lid, place all ingredients in layers, in the order listed. Salt and pepper each layer as desired. Cover Bake
at 350 degrees for 1 hour Uncover Bake 30 minutes longer, or until liquid is absorbed.
TOO GOOD TO BE EASY CHERRY PIE (Mama got this recipe from a friend. Though it is not an old-fashioned recipe,
I think it has been in the family long enough to qualify for this section. We usually make it on holidays and
often serve it instead of birthday cake.) 1 and 1/2 cups flour 1/4 cup sugar 2/3 cup soft margarine
Mix well and pat into bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Pour on 2 cans cherry pie filling. Bake
20 minutes longer. Serve warm or cold.
BETTY'S HAWAIIAN CHICKEN (Betty is my mother's only sister) 1 whole chicken or selected pieces Dust
chicken with - 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon celery salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon
nutmeg Brown chicken in skillet Pour off excess oil Pour the following mixture over chicken: 1
and 1/2 cups pineapple juice 1/4 cup soy sauce Cover and simmer until done ROZALEE'S FROSTED CRANBERRY
SQUARES (Rozalee is my only sister) One 13 and 1/2 ounce can crushed pineapple One 6 ounce package lemon
jello One 7 ounce bottle ginger ale (1 cup) One 1 pound can jellied cranberry sauce One 2 ounce package dessert
topping mix One 8 ounce package cream cheese (softened) 1/2 cup pecans Drain pineapple, reserving syrup.
Add water to syrup to make 1 cup, heat until mixture is boiling. Dissolve jello in hot liquid. Cool. Gently stir
in ginger ale. Chill until partially set. Meanwhile, blend drained pineapple and cranberry sauce; fold into jello
mixture. Turn into 9x9x2 pan and chill until firm. Prepare dessert topping mix according to package directions.
Fold in cream cheese, spread over jello. Toast pecans in 1 tablespoon margarine in 350 degree oven for
ten minutes. Sprinkle over top of salad. Chill.
KENNETH'S OYSTER STEW (Kenneth was my father) 1 quart hot milk 1 pint oysters 1/4 cup butter 1 tablespoon
salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Add oysters to hot milk; heat until they are plump and their edges curl. Add
butter, salt and pepper. GRAVEYARD STEW (Daddy's remedy for an upset stomach) Same as oyster stew But
without the oysters.
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