John Denver's Flemish Apple Cake

John Denver's Flemish Apple Cake

2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 cup honey
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt

Sauté apples in butter. Season with nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir for a few minutes, then add maple syrup and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and ginger. Cream butter and honey. Add eggs and sour cream or yogurt to butter and honey and mix well. Mix dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Fold in apples and bake in a greased loaf pan at 400 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes. Serves 8.

William Demarest's Sour Cream Waffles

William Demarest's Sour Cream Waffles

2 cups cake flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons butter, melted (3/4 stick)
4 large eggs (separated, whites beaten stiff)

Sift dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix. Add egg yolks and mix. Fold in egg whites. Bake in hot waffle iron.

Recipes by Dom DeLuise: Blueberry Cheese Cake; Sugarless Apple Pie

Dom DeLuise's Blueberry Cheese Cake

1 baked 10-inch pie crust

Or prepare crust as follows:
1 small jar Macadamia nuts, crushed
1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 pound sweet butter, softened

Filling:
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:
1 (8 ounce) package sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15 ounce) can blueberries

Crust:
Crush nuts in blender or with rolling pin between sheets of wax paper. Combine all ingredients; mix well. Press into a 10-inch springform pan. Bake in preheated 400 degrees F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Filling:
Crumble cheese in large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Beat at high speed with portable mixer until well blended and smooth, about 5 minutes. Pour over crust. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes or until set. Cool 10 minutes.

Topping:
Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Spread over cheese cake and bake 5 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cool. Top with blueberries. Refrigerate.

Dom DeLuise's Sugarless Apple Pie

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon raisins
1 tablespoon nuts
1/2 cup Grape-Nuts
1 cup apple juice
3 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced into crescents

Place sliced apples in an 8-inch pie dish. Add cinnamon, raisins and nuts. Cover top with Grape-Nuts. Moisten with apple juice and bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 1/2 hours.

Serve with low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt. Serves 6.

Recipes by Dolores del Rio: Enchiladas; Pecan Fudge

Dolores del Rio's Enchiladas

1 pound fresh tomatoes
1 medium onion, finely cut
2 small cans green chiles, finely cut
salt and pepper to taste
4 asaderos (Mexican cheese)
1 pint sour cream
1 dozen tortillas

Scald tomatoes, peel and dice. Fry onions in lard, then add tomatoes and continue frying. Add chiles and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add asaderos. When it begins to melt; remove from fire.

Fry tortillas, one by one, in lard, leaving them soft. Place tortillas on plate and put in the center of each one a mixture of tomatoes, onions, cheese and chiles, roll each one and cover them with sour cream. Serve immediately.

Dolores del Rio's Pecan Fudge

2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 lb. bitter chocolate
1 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 lb. pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together the sugar, chocolate, cream and salt. Cook over a moderate flame until mixture forms a soft ball in water, or 236 degrees F. Stir only to prevent burning. Remove from fire, add the butter, letting it melt without stirring. Let stand in a pan of cool (not cold) water until lukewarm. If it is allowed to cool too suddenly it will become sugary. Then beat until thick. Add chopped nuts and vanilla and pour out into a layer 1/2 inch thick. If preferred, it may be poured first and the nut halves pressed into the surface at regular intervals to permit cutting. Makes about twenty-four squares.

Olivia de Havilland's Salade Nicoise

Olivia de Havilland's Salade Nicoise

For the salad dressing:

2 tbsps. wine vinegar (or lemon juice)
6 tbsps. fine-grade oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard (more if desired)
Few leaves of fresh tarragon

Mix together all the ingredients; blending well. Set aside until ready to assemble salad.

To assemble the salad:

1 lb. fresh small green beans, washed, trimmed, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 small red sweet pepper, cleaned, seeded, cut in thin strips
1 small green sweet pepper, cleaned, seeded, cut in thin strips
1 cucumber, peeled, sliced
2 cans (5-7-ozs.) prime tuna fillet, drained
3 tomatoes, peeled, cut in quarters
12 pitted black olives
1 sweet onion, peeled, cut in rings
2 hearts of lettuce, crisped
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered

Place green beans into a large saucepan of boiling water; cook 5 minutes. Drain and plunge beans into ice water; drain and chill. Place chilled green beans in a bowl with strips of red and green pepper, cucumber, tuna fillet (cut in large chunks), tomatoes, olives, onion rings and hearts of lettuce. Arrange to form an attractive mixture in salad bowl. Drizzle salad dressing over salad and add additional amounts of salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

Thoughts: If desired, salad can be assembled on a decorative glass plate. The additions of small peeled new potatoes and capers make delightful variations of this French classic. Delicious with sour dough bread, chilled white wine, and strawberries lightly dusted with powdered sugar for dessert.

Ruby Dee's Vegetarian Soup

Ruby Dee's Vegetarian Soup

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2-3 tbsps. butter (or corn oil)
2 qts. water (or liquid from cooked vegetables)
1 can (1-lb.) tomatoes
2 tbsps. salt
2 cups diced turnips
1 small eggplant, diced
1 cup cauliflowerettes
1 cup diced cabbage
2 carrots, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced
1 cup corn kernels
2 tsps. basil leaves
2 bay leaves
2 tbsps. parsley flakes
4 pkgs. vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Worcestershire sauce to taste

In large stock pot, brown mushrooms in butter (or corn oil). Add water (or liquid from cooked vegetables). Bring to boiling point. Add tomatoes and salt. Cover, reduce heat and simmer about 25-30 minutes. Add vegetables and remaining ingredients. Cook 30-40 minutes longer (or until vegetables are tender). Taste to correct seasonings. Serve as hearty supper course with garlic-buttered French bread and lemon gelatin salad made with shredded carrots and crushed canned pineapple. Serves 8-10.

Frances Dee's Roast Ham with Cider Sauce

Frances Dee's Roast Ham with Cider Sauce

Soak a 12-pound ham several hours or overnight in cold water. Wash thoroughly and trim off hard skin near end of bone. Put in saucepan with half a cup each of sliced onion and carrot. Add two sprigs of parsley, half a bay leaf, four cloves and five peppercorn. Cover with cold water, bring slowly to boiling point and let simmer until tender--about four hours. After two hours' cooking, add one quart cider. Allow ham to cool in liquor. Remove from liquor, take off skin, sprinkle with fine sugar and fine breadcrumbs. Bake one hour in slow oven. Serve hot with cider sauce.

Cider Sauce:
3 dessertspoons (2 tablespoons) butter
2 cups ham liquor
pepper and salt
4 dessertspoons (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) flour
4 dessertspoons (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) cider

Melt butter, add flour and pour in hot ham liquor gradually, while stirring constantly. Bring to the boiling point and add cider. Pepper and salt to taste. Pour over ham and serve.