Recipes by Rodney Dangerfield: New England Fried Trout; Vegetable Chicken Dish

Rodney Dangerfield's New England Fried Trout

4 trout, about 1 lb. each
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. onion salt
Dash of pepper
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup margarine (or corn oil)
Lemon wedges

Clean, split trout, remove heads and tails. Dip in milk. Sprinkle with the seasonings. Now dip in cornmeal. Get shortening good and hot, and fry fish until brown and done (when flesh begins to flake when tested With a fork). Fry other side. Serve at once with lemon wedges. Serves 4.

Rodney Dangerfield's Vegetable Chicken Dish

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
2 1/2 tbsps. corn oil
1 1/2 cups sliced celery
1 cup fresh peas (uncooked)
2 cans (4 ozs. each) mushrooms, sliced
1 1/3 cups clear chicken soup
3 tbsps. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. liquid seasoning of your choice (sherry, fresh lemon or lime juice, etc.)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 lb. sliced cooked chicken (or turkey)

Cook onion in oil until soft, add celery and cook together for a minute or two. Stir in peas, cover and cook 5 minutes. Combine all ingredients, add to skillet, stirring until thickened. Arrange chicken or turkey slices over
vegetable mixture and cook another 5 minutes. May be served with rice for complete, one dish meal. Serves 4.

Thoughts: Good leftover dish for baked chicken or turkey. If desired, you may increase the amount of chicken, add a few strips of pimento for color, and 3 water chestnuts, sliced.

Abby Dalton's Lamb Stew with Parsley Dumplings

Abby Dalton's Lamb Stew with Parsley Dumplings

Lamb Stew:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean boneless lamb from leg or breast, cut into cubes
well-seasoned flour
vegetable oil
lamb bones, reserved from leg or breast
1 cup celery, chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs parsley, chopped
10 to 12 bruised peppercorns
salt and pepper to taste
water
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can chicken broth, optional
3 or 4 carrots, scraped, cut into large pieces
3 large stalks celery
2 large onions, peeled and cut in large pieces
1 cup frozen or fresh peas

Parsley Dumplings:
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup parsley, minced
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
chopped parsley, optional

Trim all fat from lamb; dredge in seasoned flour. Brown in hot vegetable oil in skillet on all sides. Set aside browned lamb.

Meanwhile, simmer bones with chopped celery, onion, bay leaf, parsley, peppercorns, salt and pepper to taste and water to cover. Cover and simmer (do not boil) 3 to 4 hours, until stock is well flavored.

Strain stock; discard vegetables and bones. Add strained stock, a little at a time, to hot lamb. Loosen cooked flour mixture, stirring with wooden spoon. Add enough chicken stock if necessary, to make a very light gravy. Add remaining ingredients except peas and dumpling mixture. Cover and simmer (do not boil) until vegetables are almost tender. Add peas and dumpling mixture. Cook until dumplings are done, about 12 minutes. Serve piping hot!

Parsley Dumplings:
Sift together dry ingredients. With knife, cut in butter until mixture resembles corn meal. Work in chopped parsley. Beat egg yolks with buttermilk in separate bowl; add quickly to flour mixture with fork. Do not beat mixture. Drop dough by small teaspoonsful into simmering stew. Cover tightly, cook 12 minutes without peeking! Serve hot. Dust with additional parsley if desired.

Tony Curtis' Töltött Káposzta

Tony Curtis' Töltött Káposzta

1 pound ground meat
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup rice
1 1/2 tsps. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 head cabbage
2 tbsps. chicken fat
1 large onion, cut in rings
3/4 can (large) tomato juice
1 cup sauerkraut and juice
1 glass water

Cut out core of cabbage and place cabbage in pot of boiling water. Turn off heat and let stand 10 to 15 minutes to soften leaves. Remove cabbage from water and drain. Put meat in a bowl with next five ingredients and mix thoroughly. Separate cabbage leaves carefully, keeping them whole. Put a leaf on a large plate and shave off rib to thickness of leaf. Put a spoonful of meat mixture on leaf near base and roll up very loosely to permit swelling of rice. In a large pot, fry onions in chicken fat until golden brown. Add tomato juice and sauerkraut and juice. Arrange stuffed cabbage leaves in pot. Pour in water. Cover and simmer over low heat 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until rice is soft. (Makes 18 stuffings--serves 6).

Ken Curtis' Lamb Shanks

Ken Curtis' Lamb Shanks

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 lamb shanks
2 tbsps. salad oil
1 1/2 cups dry Sauterne wine
1 can (15 ozs.) wax beans
Hot cooked rice

Combine flour, salt, oregano and pepper; mix well. Coat lamb on all sides with flour mixture. Reserve remaining flour mixture. Heat oil in large skillet, add lamb and cook over low heat until browned on all sides. Remove lamb from skillet and place in baking dish. Add wine. Cover and bake in preheated 325 degrees F. oven for 1 hour 45 minutes. Add wax beans and continue baking for 15 minutes. Remove lamb and beans. Add reserved seasoned flour mixture to the remaining wine in baking dish. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cut lamb off shanks in large pieces. Return lamb and beans to wine sauce. Serve over rice. Serves 4.

Phyllis Curtin's Bone Soup

Phyllis Curtin's Bone Soup

2 1/2 lbs. leftover bones (or knuckle and marrow bones cut in large pieces)
2 1/2 lbs. lean rump roast cut in 2-inch cubes
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and cut in coarse dice
2 qts. liquid (juices from leftover canned or cooked vegetables plus water)
2 cans beef broth
1 package soup greens (1 leek, carrot, handful celery leaves, large piece celery heart)
6 ripe Italian plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tsps. monosodium glutamate
2 tsps. salt
1/4 tsp. grated Curtin seasonings (6 each white and black peppercorns mixed with one allspice)
4 medium potatoes, peeled, cut in large pieces
4 large carrots, peeled, sliced in 1/4-inch rounds
6 small boiling onions, peeled
1 cup lima beans (or 10 oz. package frozen Fordhook lima beans)
1 cup fresh garden peas
1/2 small head of cabbage, chopped

Use leftover bones (or sear or broil bones until almost charred, discarding extra fat). Set bones aside. Sear meat quickly in lightly greased 8-quart stock pot.

Add bones, onion, parsnip, liquid, beef broth, tomatoes, and soup greens (wrapped in a cheesecloth bag); cover, simmer 15 minutes. Remove bag of soup greens, discarding. Start adding monosodium glutamate, salt, Curtin seasonings. Cover, simmer 2 1/2 hours.

Add potatoes, carrots and onions; simmer uncovered about 45 minutes. Add lima beans and peas, cook until tender. During last 10 minutes add chopped cabbage. Correct seasonings to taste. Serves 8-10.

Quinn Cummings' Greek Stew

Quinn Cummings' Greek Stew

2 lbs. top or bottom boneless round, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 small clove garlic, pressed
1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups beef broth (or water)
1 cup dry red wine
1 bay leaf
Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
12 pearl onions, peeled
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup walnut halves

Brown beef in olive oil or butter; lift out meat. Brown chopped onion in same pan with garlic. Return beef to pan.

Add tomato paste, beef broth (or water), wine, bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over low heat about 1 1/4 hours.

Add onions and cheese. Cook uncovered 30 minutes longer or until onions are tender. Add walnuts. Heat a few minutes longer.

Taste to correct seasonings. Stew may be thickened if desired with flour-water. Great with pita bread and a tossed green salad. Serves 6.

Thoughts: Stew works well made in crockpot or oven. Other touches to give authentic Greek flavor to recipe: artichokes, ripe olives, dill or mint or a vegetable such as carrots or green peas.

Bill Cullen's Cheese Souffle

Bill Cullen's Cheese Souffle

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup each, crumbled Swiss and sharp Cheddar
5 egg whites

Melt butter in top of double boiler over direct heat. Blend in flour. Stir in milk and seasonings and remove from fire. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, alternately with cheese. Place top of double boiler over hot water, stir until cheese has melted.

Blend well, remove from hot water, cool slightly. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into a buttered 1 1/2-quart souffle dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Fold a wax paper collar around the souffle dish about two inches over the top of the dish during baking. Secure with string around collar to hold in place. Remove before serving. Serve immediately. Top with medium white sauce flavored with Dijon mustard. Serves 4.