Jonathan Winters' Tuna Bake

Jonathan Winters' Tuna Bake

1 tablespoon minced onion
1 tablespoon butter
One 10 1/2-ounce can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
8 drops Tabasco sauce
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Salt to taste
A few gratings freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 hard-cooked eggs, minced
Two 6-ounce cans tuna
One 10-ounce package frozen petits pois, slightly thawed
1 cup crushed potato (or corn) chips

Saute onion in butter until golden. Stir in chicken soup, milk, cheese and seasonings; blend well. Heat over low flame until cheese melts, remove from heat, set aside.

Drain tuna well, put tuna in sieve (or colander), rinse under water to remove excess oil. Place tuna in mixing bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice, and let stand a few minutes. Add eggs, peas and cheese sauce, stir well. Pour into well-greased 2-quart casserole; top with potato (or corn) chips. Bake uncovered in preheated 375 degree oven 25-30 minutes. Serve as luncheon or supper dish with tossed green salad, sliced beefsteak tomatoes and hot baking powder biscuits. Serves 4.

Paul Winfield's Seafood Gumbo

Paul Winfield's Seafood Gumbo

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 links Italian sweet sausage cooked in skillet a few minutes to remove
fat, cut in halves
About 3 cups chicken broth (canned or homemade)
6 chicken pieces
3 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
About 1 1/2 tsps. salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Good pinch of thyme
1/4 tsp. Tabasco to taste (more if desired)
1 pound crab meat
1/2 pound peeled, deveined raw shrimp
1 pint shucked oysters with liquid
Gumbo filé powder
3 cups hot cooked rice
Minced fresh parsley

Brown flour in butter until it is deep red-brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add onion, green pepper, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are limp. Add sausage, chicken broth, chicken parts, tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, and Tabasco. Cook slowly until chicken is tender. Add more chicken broth if needed. Add crab meat, cook about 15 minutes; add shrimp and oysters. Cook only until shrimp are pink and oysters begin to curl. Taste to correct seasonings. Remove from heat and add gumbo filé powder to taste. Serve at once in shallow bowls with fluffy rice. Garnish with parsley. Serves 6.

Thoughts: Paul's gumbo is delicious and simple. It can be given a stronger flavor by the addition of spices (saffron, cayenne) and herbs (bay leaf, red pepper). If desired, add 1 1/2 lbs. okra cut in rounds and sauteed in butter when the oysters are added to gumbo. Fresh corn from the garden makes a delightful addition. You might also add bacon or smoked ham, or, for the hunter, wild duck. And you can use just about any leftover meats, such as the remaining holiday turkey. Paul's gumbo, in fact, can be the beginning of a whole storehouse of great dishes!

Recipes by Nancy Wilson: Fettuccine Alfredo; Italian Veal Cutlets

Nancy Wilson's Fettuccine Alfredo

1 lb. broad egg noodles
1/4 lb. sweet butter, melted
1/3 cup heavy cream, slightly whipped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook noodles in 5 qts. boiling salted water until al dente (about 7-8 minutes). The noodles tend to be cooked when they rise to the surface. Stop cooking immediately by adding 1/2 cup cold water to the noodles. Drain well.

2. While noodles are cooking, place butter in small saucepan, heat slightly. Add slightly whipped cream and half the grated cheese. Blend well. Place large scoop of the butter-cream-cheese sauce in bottom of a large heated bowl. Place hot noodles on top of sauce and pour remaining sauce and cheese on the top. Toss well and serve at once. Serves 4.

Thoughts: For a slightly richer sauce, add beaten egg yolk to the melted butter, just before adding the cream and cheese. For flavor variations use grated Romano cheese, sour cream and-or cream or ricotta cheese. White pepper or black pepper may be used for added seasoning,

Nancy Wilson's Italian Veal Cutlets

1 1/2 lbs. veal cutlets
Seasoned flour (2 tbsps. flour mixed with 1/2 tsp. garlic salt, large pinch of dried basil, and a few gratings of freshly ground pepper)
3 tbsps. olive oil
3/4 cup rose wine
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bone cutlets, pound meat to flatten slightly; cut into bite-size pieces. Dredge meat in seasoned flour. Heat olive oil until sizzling in large skillet.

2. Brown meat quickly on both sides. Reduce heat; pour in wine. Cover, simmer until meat is tender (about 35 minutes). Add sour cream and Parmesan cheese until sauce begins to bubble, but do not boil. Correct seasonings. Serve at once. Serves 4-6.

Thoughts: If desired, wine may be omitted and diluted chicken stock substituted. For a slightly fruity flavor, add a heaping tablespoon of melted currant jelly to chicken stock.

Flip Wilson's Bahamian Fish Chowder

Flip Wilson's Bahamian Fish Chowder

3 pounds of assorted fillet of fish (grouper, red snapper, sea trout)
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lemon
Juice of half a lime
Good pinch of cayenne (or crushed hot peppers)
1/4 pound lean salt pork cut in fine dice
2 yellow onions, peeled and chopped
1 small green pepper, diced
6 medium-sized okra (or 1 cup canned, drained okra) cut in one-half inch slices
6 peeled ripe tomatoes cut in quarters (or a one pound can whole tomatoes, drained)
Generous pinch of thyme
2 springs of parsley
2 bay leaves
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Dash of Tabasco
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
About 3 cups water
1 pound cleaned spinach (or turnip greens), coarsely chopped

Rinse off fish, dry well, cut in two-inch chunks; place in flat glass dish. Sprinkle with salt, cayenne, lemon and lime juice. Let stand about 1 hour. Saute salt pork, onion and green pepper in large saucepan (or Dutch oven). Cook until vegetables are lightly browned; pour off excess fat.

Add okra, tomatoes, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, pepper, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, cook about 30 minutes over low heat, stirring often. Add water and tomato juice (if canned tomatoes are used), cook slowly uncovered about one hour to reduce volume about one third. Add fish and spinach greens to saucepan, cook until fish is barely tender. Correct seasonings. Serve with hot cooked rice as side dish. Serves 8.

Flip's Thoughts: For a thicker "stew" add four peeled, diced potatoes 45 minutes before stew is finished.

Recipes by Chill Wills: Blintzes; Chili

Chill Wills' Blintzes

3 eggs, separated
2 tbsps. melted butter
Pinch of salt
Dash of sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
One carton (8 ozs.) sieved cottage cheese (or farmer's cheese)
1 egg yolk
Dairy sour cream
Soft sweet butter
Black cherry preserves

Beat 3 egg yolks, melted butter, salt, sugar, flour and milk together until smooth. Beat 3 egg whites until soft peaks are formed; fold into yolk-flour mixture. Cover bowl, let batter stand about 1 hour. Place large skillet over high heat, spread evenly and lightly with thin film of melted butter. Use about 2 tablespoons batter for each pancake, tilt pan to make very thin pancakes, or blintzes. Cook on one side only. Stack, browned side up, between squares of aluminum foil. Blend together cottage cheese, egg yolk and 2 tablespoons sour cream. Place heaping tablespoon cheese mixture in center of browned side of each blintz; fold sides over filling like an envelope, press to seal. Cook at once in butter until crisp and lightly browned. Makes about 20.

Chill Wills' Chili

1 pound lean stewing beef (preferably neck meat), cut in 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons Spanish olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper powder***
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove garlic, crushed
About 1 cup water

Saute beef in oil in cast-iron skillet over high heat until well-browned. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour (or until meat is tender enough to chew, but not overcooked). Add more water if necessary during cooking.

***Chill Wills grows his own chili peppers (ancho variety, the large sweet Mexican pepper used for preparing Chiles Rellenos), sun dries the seeds and creates his chili powder by grinding the seeds. A good grade of chili powder compound (available in Mexican or Spanish food shops) or Gebhardt chili powder may be substituted. Both types of chili powder contain ground chili peppers plus ground cumin. Adjust flavor to taste. Serves 4.

Recipes by Nicol Williamson: Scottish Griddle Scones; Steak Mince and Stovie Potatoes

Nicol Williamson's Scottish Griddle Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsps. sugar
3 tbsps. butter (or shortening)
1 egg, beaten
About 7 tbsps. milk
Pinch of salt

1. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter (or shortening) until the texture is like fine meal. is like fine meal. Combine egg with all but 1 tbsp. of the milk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add egg-milk mixture. Mix lightly with fork to form fairly stiff dough. Add more milk if necessary.

2. Gather dough together gently with lightly floured hands to form a ball. Turn out on a lightly floured board. Roll out circle of dough about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into 8 pie-shaped wedges.

3. Rub round griddle (or skillet) lightly with unsalted lard (or shortening). Heat over medium heat. Place scones on hot griddle, cook over medium heat, turn once to brown on both sides. (Cooking directly on the griddle takes from 10-12 minutes. Watch closely so scones do not cook too rapidly.) To test for doneness, press down lightly with fingers to see that dough does not ooze out from the edges.

4. Serve at once with butter and strawberry jam for breakfast or tea. Makes 8 large scones.

Thoughts: Scottish cooks prepare scones in many ways (with golden syrup or treacle). American cooks can also bake them in the oven as one would prepare biscuits. However, the texture is slightly different and not as crusty as the griddle-cooked scones. Some Scottish cooks prefer not to roll out the dough, but grab off small amounts of dough (the size of a dessert spoon), shape the dough by pressing into triangle or diamond shapes on a lightly floured board and then toss the scones from one hand to the other to shake off excess flour before baking on the griddle.

Nicol Williamson's Steak Mince and Stovie Potatoes

4 large potatoes, peeled, cut in large pieces
Boiling salted water
1 1/2 lbs. lean top quality steak (cut in coarse mince by hand or meat chopper)
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. butter (or bacon drippings)
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
About 1/2 cup water (stock or beef broth)
One beef bouillon cube
1 1/4 tsps. salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Butter

l. Parboil potatoes a few minutes in boiling water. Drain and reserve.

2. Cook minced steak and onion in butter (or bacon drippings) just until meat begins to turn brown. Remove from heat. Remove meat-onion mixture from skillet. Reserve pan drippings.

3. Grease a 1 1/2-qt. glass (or metal) baking dish with butter (or bacon drippings). Arrange layer of meat-onion mixture on the bottom of the casserole. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Top with layer of carrots, season with salt and pepper. Repeat layers until all the ingredients have been used.

3. Heat water (or stock or beef broth) in skillet in which meat and onion have been cooked. For added flavor, dissolve a bouillon cube in water (or stock) in skillet. Pour heated liquid over vegetables in casserole.

4. Arrange potato pieces on top of vegetables and meat to form a "fence." Salt and pepper lightly. Cover and bake in preheated 300 degrees F. oven 45 minutes. Remove cover, allow to cook 30 minutes longer (or until potatoes are browned and tender). Serves 4.

Thoughts: Originally "stovies" referred to potatoes served late at night. The potatoes (whole and peeled) were flavored with bacon fat (or drippings) and cooked in coal stoves. If desired, the potatoes can be mashed and put on the top. If desired, uncooked ingredients can be used but require longer cooking time. The flavor of the potatoes is improved if they are heated in a small amount of butter before arranging on the top of the vegetables prior to baking.

Roger Williams' Baked Sole in Foil

Roger Williams' Baked Sole in Foil

3 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
2 large carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped onion
4 fillets of sole (or haddock)
4 squares heavy-duty aluminum foil
1 cup condensed celery soup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Melt butter (or margarine) over low heat; add carrots, celery and onion. Saute vegetables until limp. Arrange fillets individually in center of each square of aluminum foil. Top each fillet with sauteed vegetables. In separate bowl, blend soup with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle parsley over each; close each packet, folding edges of foil to seal tightly. Place packets on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F. oven about 25 minutes. Serve with crisp green salad and oven-hot sliced French bread.