Recipes by Anita Bryant: Orange Juice Cake; Pound Cake; Snapper Bonne Femme

Anita Bryant's Orange Juice Cake

For the cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup orange juice
1 cup chopped pecans

For the glaze:

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour Bundt pan. Sprinkle pecans in bottom.

Mix all cake ingredients together and stir until smooth. Pour in Bundt pan and bake 33-43 minutes (or until your knife comes out clean).

Put glaze ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium/high heat for 4 or 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Poke a few (4 or 5) holes with a knife in the bottom of the cake (while it is still in the pan) and pour the glaze over it.

Let cake cool for 10 minutes after this before turning out onto a plate.

Slice and eat, warm or cold.

Anita Bryant's Pound Cake

2 2/3 cups sugar
8 medium eggs, room temperature (or 7 large eggs)
1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup light cream or half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-x-5-inch loaf pans.

Measure out 6 level tablespoons sugar into a cup or bowl.

Beat the egg whites until they begin to form peaks; then gradually beat in the 6 tablespoons sugar. Place this sort-of meringue in the refrigerator until you need it.

In a large bowl, cream the butter well. Gradually beat in the rest of the sugar and the salt; then beat in the egg yolks, two at a time. Add the flour and the cream alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Add the mace. Whip until the batter is as light as possible, about 10 minutes at medium speed. Then fold in the egg-white mixture and the vanilla extract. You'll feel as if you're trying to fold egg whites into cement, but persevere. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or just until a cake tester stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes; then invert onto the rack and re-invert onto another rack so the cake will cool right side up.

Anita Bryant's Snapper Bonne Femme

2 pounds red snapper (or sea or striped bass) filets
1 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1 small clove garlic, whole
1 1/2 tablespoons minced shallot
12 cleaned mushroom caps, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry while wine (or 1/4 cup each white wine and bottled clam juice) 1 tablespoon minced parsley
2 scant teaspoons flour
1/2 cup light cream

Wipe filets with damp cloth, season both sides with salt and pepper, set aside. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet, add garlic, shallot, half the mushrooms and parsley. Top with fish, cover with remaining mushrooms. Pour in wine.

Cut circle of waxed paper (or buttered brown paper) to fit the skillet; tear small hole in center of paper. Place paper circle over fish.

Cover skillet. Bring to boil, reduce to low flame cooking fish 5 to 10 minutes (or until fish is easily flaked with a fork, but still moist).

Remove cover, paper and garlic. Remove fish to heated platter.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce while fish cooks. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in another skillet; gradually blend in flour. Cook, stirring over low heat until butter foams but is not discolored. Remove from heat. Gradually add cream. Return to fire, cook slowly over low heat, stirring until sauce has reduced one third (or is the consistency of medium white sauce). Spoon over fish. Glaze by running under broiler before serving. Garnish with minced parsley and lemon wedges. Serves 4.