A small, wooden recipe box full of dinner ideas turned me into a cook! Growing up, my mother ruled the kitchen with an iron fist. I wasn’t allowed to cook – only to clean up after dinner. So when I married Jim at 19, boiling water really was about all I could do. Bless his heart, he suffered through some less than stellar meals before I found my way around the kitchen. Back in the early 1960’s, I owned one cookbook that I received as a bridal shower gift and didn’t know how to use it in the beginning. What saved the day – or dinner – on many a night was another shower gift: A wooden box of recipes given to me by my co-workers. This was a standard gift the women at the office put together whenever someone got married. Each person donated a recipe handwritten on a 3 X 5 inch index card to go inside the box. It may not have seemed like much at the time but oh, how I learned and enjoyed creating those many recipes. Today, 54 years later, I still have some of the cards and the others were transferred to my computer to keep for as long as I want them. I learned to cook by preparing the foods from that wooden box full of homemade recipes.

The very first dinner I prepared for Jim in our little apartment in married student housing at Vanderbilt University came from that little box of recipes.  Chicken Parisienne with Spinach-Rice Casserole and Buttermilk Cake took me far longer than it should have to prepare, but what a success! I  was so happy that I could actually prepare a meal! Those 3 foods remain a favorite in our home today, all because of that little wooden box, although the cake only surfaces on Christmas Eve.

Chicken Parisienne

4 Chicken Breasts
1 Can of Golden Mushroom Soup
1/2 Cup White Wine (Back then, I used Cooking Sherry from the grocery store).
1/2 Cup of Canned Pearl Onions

Brown the chicken breasts in real butter in an iron skillet or something than can go directly into the oven. Once the pieces are golden brown, set the skillet aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the soup and wine and pour over the chicken. Add the drained pearl onions. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes if the breasts are boneless or 1 hour if they are bone-in.  Check with a fork to be sure they are done. If the sauce begins to dry out, add more wine and a little water to the skillet.  Serve and spoon a little of the sauce on top.

Spinach-Rice Casserole

Prepare Minute Rice according to package directions. Make as much as you need for the number of people you are serving. For 4 people, I would make 2 Cups of prepared rice. Set rice aside.  I buy frozen spinach for this dish and it works well.  Thaw a package (10 oz) of spinach in the microwave and drain well, even patting the spinach with paper towels to soak up some of the moisture. Mix the spinach with the cooked rice and add 1/2 Cup of grated cheddar cheese. (Or more). Season with onion salt and a little garlic salt. Pour into a greased baking dish and top with more grated cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and serve.

• This dish became a family favorite and many a visitor had no idea there was spinach in the dish.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

 

This cake is a must for Christmas Eve supper in our home!

1 Stick of real butter, softened
1/2 C. solid shortening (Crisco)
3 C. sugar
5 eggs
1 C. buttermilk
3 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1 TBSP. boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

Cream the Crisco, butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Dissolve the soda in the buttermilk. Alternate adding the flour and the buttermilk mixture to the batter, beginning and ending with flour. Add the flavorings.  Last but not least, add 1 TBSP. Boiling water. Pour into a greased and floured Bundt pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/4 hours until golden brown. Check with a toothpick in the center for doneness.

This cake is rich and does not need a frosting, but you could sprinkle confectioner’s sugar on it. When I make it, I add a bit more almond flavoring than the recipe calls for.  Great served with coffee!