Sugar Cookie Murder (22 page)

To serve, take off the to and invite your guests to dip bread squares, crackers, or vegetable sticks.

SPINACH QUICHE

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

This is my recipe. It can be served as an appetizer if you cut it into thin slices and arrange them on a platter. It can also be served as an entrée.

One 9-inch unbaked pastry shell

1 egg yolk, beaten (reserve the white in a small dish)

10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper (freshly ground is best)

3 tablespoons horseradish sauce

2 ounces shredded Jarlsberg (or good Swiss cheese)

4 eggs

1 ½ cups half-and-half (or light cream)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 nutmeg (freshly ground is best)

Brush the inside of the unbaked pastry shell with the egg yolk. Set the shell aside to dry.

Cook and drain the spinach. Squeeze out as much moisture as you can, and then blot with a paper towel.

In a bowl, combine the spinach with the salt, pepper, and horseradish sauce. Spread it in the bottom of the pastry shell.

Sprinkle the top with the grated cheese.

Beat the 4 whole eggs with the reserved egg white. Add the half-and-half, salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and pour on top of cheese.

Sprinkle the top with nutmeg.

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted one inch from the center comes out clean.

Let cool for ten minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.

This quiche can be served warm or at room temperature. I’ve even been known to eat it cold, straight out of the refrigerator. It’s perfect for a fancy brunch of a lazy, relaxed breakfast on the weekend.

Yield: Serves from 12-18 as an appetizer. Serves six as an entrée if they only have one piece.

SPINACH ROLLUPS

This recipe is from my friend Susan Zilber. Susan moved away to New York, but I bet she still makes these.

5-8 flour tortillas (the large burrito size)

16-ounce package frozen chopped spinach

¼ cup mayonnaise

½ cup softened cream cheese

¼ cup sour cream

1/8 cup dried chopped onion

¼ cup bacon bits

1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

Cook the spinach and drain it, squeezing out all the moisture. (Cheesecloth inside a strainer works well for this.) Mix together all ingredients except the tortillas.

Spread small amount of spinach mixture out on the face of a tortilla. Roll it up and place it in a plastic freezer bag. Continue spreading and rolling tortillas until the spinach mixture is gone.

Fold the plastic bag over when all the rollups are inside to make sure they stay tightly rolled. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. (Overnight is best.) Slice with a sharp knife, arrange on a platter, and serve as appetizers.

Susan says to tell you that once she started to make these and found that she was out of sour cream. She used all cream cheese instead, and they were delicious.

HANNAH’S ADDITION TO SUSAN’S ROLLUPS

5-8 flour tortillas (the large burrito size)

6 ounces chopped smoked salmon (or lox)

8 ounces softened cream cheese

¼ cup dried chopped onions

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dill weed (of course fresh is best)

Mix all the ingredients except the tortillas together in a bowl.

Spread small amount of the salmon mixture out on the face of a tortilla. Roll it up and place it in a plastic freezer bag. Continue spreading and rolling tortillas until the salmon mixture is gone.

Fold the plastic bag over when all the rollups are inside to make sure they stay tightly rolled. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. (Overnight is best.) Slice with a sharp knife, arrange on a platter, and serve as appetizers.

I made Susan’s Spinach Rollups too, and after I cut them the next day, I arranged both kinds on the platter in contrasting rings. It looked gorgeous.

CORN CHOWDER

This recipe is from Marjorie Hanks. She used to make it on the stove, but now that Luanne got her a slow cooker, she makes it this way.

½ cup cooked ham, diced (or 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled)

2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced

½ cup onion, chopped

2 ten-ounce packages frozen whole-kernel corn

1 can (16 ounces) cream-style corn

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon Mrs. Knudson’s Season Salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 cup chicken broth

Coat the crock of a 4-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in the Crock-Pot and stir well.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.

Yield: Makes 6 hearty servings.

CREAM OF CHEAT MUSHROOM SOUP

This is one of Edna Ferguson’s recipes and she named it herself.

2 cups chicken broth

8-ounce package sliced mushrooms (fresh, from the grocery store) with 12 perfect slices reserved for garnish

1 can (10 ¾ ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup (undiluted)

2 cans (10 ¾ ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces shredded Gruyere (or any good Swiss cheese, or even Monterey Jack)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine the chicken broth and the package of mushrooms (remember to reserve those 12 perfect slices for the garnish) in a blender. Zoop it all up.

Coat the inside of a 4-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the contents of the blender to the Crock-Pot.

Add the cans of cream of mushroom soup to the Crock-Pot. Add the heavy cream, shredded cheese, and ground black pepper. Stir again.

Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.

Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and float several mushroom slices on to as a garnish.

Irma York tested this recipe. She couldn’t write down how many cups it makes because her husband, Gus, kept sneaking it out of her slow cooker.

QUICK IRISH CHILI

This recipe is from Bridget Murphy. It came from her sister, Patsy, who got it from a cousin who got it from her next-door neighbor, a man named John Brady.

2 pounds ground beef (don’t use lean — it needs some fat in it)

2 garlic cloves, minced (or one tablespoon of jarred, chopped garlic)

1 large onion, finely chopped

8-ounce can tomato sauce

3 whole cooked tomatoes, skins removed and cut into large pieces (you can use canned)

1 bottle Guinness Stout (12 ounces)

3 teaspoons chili powder

¾ teaspoons ground red pepper (cayenne)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons whole green peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Add the garlic and onion and stir until the onion pieces are translucent.

Add the tomato sauce and the tomatoes. Stir well.

Add remaining ingredients and heat everything up over medium heat, then cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Toppings:

Chopped celery sautéed in oil, but still a bit crunchy

Chopped green onions

Shredded cheese

Chopped black olives

Sour cream

Chili beans (but only if you must — real chili doesn’t have beans)

Fill bowls with chili and top with any of all of the above.

This chili is especially good served with Bridget’s Soda Bread.

Bridget says to tell you to back off a bit on the red pepper if your family doesn’t like things spicy. A generous dollop of sour cream mixed into your bowl will also work to cut the heat from the pepper.

This chili will hold for hours in a Crock-Pot, and it’s perfect for halftime at football games — just make it the night before and refrigerate it in the crock. 4-5 hours before you want to serve it, just put the crock in the slow cooker and turn it to LOW.

SALLY’S RADISH SOUP

This is the soup I always order when I go out to the Lake Eden Inn. Sally says you need a blender to make this soup. She also says that id you don’t have one, borrow one.

48 fresh red radishes

2 medium onions, cut into large pieces

5 ½ cups chicken broth

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons flour

4 cups half-and-half (or light cream)

6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons horseradish sauce (I used Heinz) *

• If you can’t find horseradish sauce, mix 1 tablespoon ground horseradish with 2 tablespoons mayonnaise.
  

Clean the radishes (cut off the tops and the bottoms and wash them) and place them in a large saucepan. Add the onions. Pour the chicken broth over them and simmer for 35 minutes.

Let the contents of the saucepan cool slightly and then puree in a blender. (You’ll have to do this in batches — it won’t all fit at once.) Transfer the puree to a large bowl and cover it to keep it warm.

Put the large saucepan back on the burner. Melt the butter on medium heat and then sprinkle in the flour. Stir until bubbles appear. Keep stirring and cooking for one minute. Add the half-and-half and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture has thickened. This should take about 5 minutes or so.

Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, white pepper, and horseradish sauce. Then add the radish puree and stir thoroughly. Return to the heat and stir until heated through.

If you want to get fancy, get a few extra radishes, slice them very thinly, and float them on top of the soup bowls. You can also add fresh, minced parsley for color.

Sally has a tip for you. If you want to bring this soup to a buffet dinner, don’t return the saucepan to the heat after adding the spices at the end. Instead, transfer the soup to a slow cooker coated with nonstick cooking sprya. When you get to the potluck dinner, plug in the Crock-Pot set it on LOW, and go off and enjoy yourself. Sally says to tell you that this soup will hold for at least 3 hours on LOW, and maybe even longer.

SUMMER GAZPACHO

Vera Olsen contributed this recipe. It’s called “Summer” Gazpacho because she only makes it when tomatoes are in season.

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 medium sweet onion, cut into chunks

6 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded

½ cup flavorful olive oil

¾ teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

23 ounces Spicy Hot V-8 Juice *

• Vera says if you don’t have Spicy Hot V-8 Juice, you can use Bloody Mary mix, or regular tomato juice spiced up with a little hot sauce.
  

Chop the cucumber and onion in small chunks and put them in a blender.

Peel the tomatoes by dipping them one at a time in boiling water for a few seconds until the skin cracks, and then into a bowl of ice water. This will make the peel come right off.

Seed the tomatoes by cutting them in quarters and poking out the seeds with your finger. Once that’s done, chop the tomatoes up a little and put them in the blender with the onion and cucumber.

Blend the chopped cucumber, onion, and tomato on the lowest speed as you add the olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, vinegar, and kosher salt. Pour contents into a large pitcher and add the V-8 Juice. Stir well and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. (Overnight is fine, too.)

When you’re ready to serve, stir the gazpacho a final time and check for seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Pour the gazpacho into small bowls. Top with a generous dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with minced chives.

DILLY ONION RINGS

This is Ellie Kuehn’s recipe. She tried serving it on a sausage pizza out at Bertanelli’s and it was really good!

1 large mild or sweet onion (a red onion is nice — more colorful)

1/3 cup white (granulated) sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon fresh baby dill (1/2 teaspoon of dried dill weed but its’ not as good)

½ cup white vinegar

¼ cup water

4 large ripe tomatoes as an accompaniment (optional)

Cut the onion in thin slices. Separate the slices into rings and put them in a bowl.

Combine the sugar, salt, dill, white vinegar, and water.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, stirring every hour or so.

Serving suggestions: Slice large ripe tomatoes and arrange on a platter. Lift the onion rings out of the brine and sprinkle them on top of the tomato slices. Garnish with fresh, chopped parsley leaves if desired.

You can use these onion rings to garnish cooked carrots, cooked green beans, even mashed potatoes. They’re also a wonderful garnish for a mixed green salad.

Covered tightly and stirred a couple of times a day, these marinated onion rings should last for at least a week in the refrigerator.

FRENCH DRESSING

Claire Rodgers contributed this recipe. She got it from one of her mother’s friends. Mabel Drager.

1 can (10 ¾ ounces) condensed tomato soup (Claire used Campbell’s Classic Tomato, undiluted)

1/3 cup wine vinegar

¾ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ cup brown sugar

Dump all ingredients in a quart jar. Put on the top and shake vigorously. Refrigerate.

Use to dress a nice green salad. You can put a few Dilly Onion Rings on the top, if you like.

GINGER ALE JELL-O

From my sister Andrea, the Queen of Jell-O. She got this recipe from Immelda Griese, Father Coultas’ housekeeper. The original recipe used canned green grapes, but Andrea couldn’t find them at the Red Owl unless she bought a huge can of fruit cocktail and picked them out, grape by grape. Since she didn’t want to do that, she substituted pears, and Immelda says she likes it even better this way.

1 large package (6 ounces) lemon or peach Jell-O