Isaac Hayes' Cornish Hens

Isaac Hayes' Cornish Hens

2 Cornish hens
1/4 cup butter, plus butter to rub on hens
2/3 cup boiling water
Grated rind of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place hens breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Rub them with salt and butter. Roast at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes per pound, basting frequently with 1/4 cup butter melted in 2/3 cup boiling water. Turn hens often. While they're cooking, make sauce. Mix the rind, fruit juices, sugar, salt and beaten egg yolks in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add egg whites. Beat the sauce until stiff. Cool and add vanilla. Serve hens with sauce. Serves 2.

Recipes by Elizabeth Hartman: Apple Strudel; Stuffed Peppers

Elizabeth Hartman's Apple Strudel

The Strudel Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted lard
One egg yolk
About 2/3 cup lukewarm milk
Melted butter
Sugar

Sift together flour and salt in mixing bowl. Make hole in center of flour, add lard, egg yolk, gradually stir in enough milk to form soft dough. Turn out dough on lightly floured board. Knead until dough is elastic and no longer sticks to the board (about 10 minutes of vigorous kneading). Place dough on floured board. Cover with warmed bowl; let rest about 20 minutes. Place dough on lightly floured sheet on large kitchen table. Pull dough from all directions being certain dough does not break. Dough should be paper-thin. Spread with apple mixture as directed below (or use cherry, poppy seed or cheese filling). Lift table cloth rolling up strudel jelly-roll fashion. Brush outside lightly with melted butter. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F. oven 35 minutes (or until brown and crisp). Slice to serve hot. Top with granulated sugar. Pass whipped or sour cream. Serves 6-8.

Apple Filling:
1/2 cup bread crumbs lightly browned in 4 tablespoons butter
8 or 10 tart cooking apples, peeled, cut in thin slices
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup currants (optional)
1/2 cup ground almonds
About 2/3 cup sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Sprinkle dough with bread crumbs, apples, raisins, currants, almonds and cinnamon sugar. Roll up as directed. To speed process purchase stretched strudel dough from Hungarian bakeries and spread with your favorite filling. Bake as directed above.

Elizabeth Hartman's Stuffed Peppers

6 medium-sized green peppers
1 pound lean ground pork (uncooked)
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, pressed
1 1/2 teaspoons lard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1 cup cooked rice
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water
Pinch of sugar

Cut off tops of peppers, reserve tops for "lids." Remove stem, seeds and inside ribs. Wash, drain well; set aside. Mix pork with onion and garlic; saute lightly in lard over low heat, stirring with a fork to keep pork from sticking together, Pour off excess fat. Add salt, pepper, paprika and rice. Mix well. Fill peppers with pork mixture; replace lids. Dilute tomato sauce with water in large saucepan. Season to taste, adding small amount of sugar. Place peppers carefully in saucepan. Cover and simmer slowly about 1 1/4 hours. Add water as needed during simmering. Remove peppers to
heated deep serving dish. Cook sauce over medium heat to reduce slightly. Correct seasonings. Spoon over stuffed peppers. Serves 6.

Elizabeth's Thoughts: Substitute beef for pork. Caraway or dill added to meat filling can spruce up this Hungarian dish. 

George Harrison's Lentil Soup

George Harrison's Lentil Soup

1 red chili
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 cup lentils
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a small amount of oil in frying pan. When oil is hot, add chili and cumin seeds. When seeds stop sputtering, brown onions and garlic in heated oil.

Wash lentils well and cover with water. Add browned onions and garlic to pan of lentils. Add tomatoes, peppers, bay leaf, plus salt and pepper. Bring to boil, cover, lower heat. Soup's on for four in an hour.

Recipes by Valerie Harper: Cobb Salad; Salmon Vegetable Broiler Dinner

Valerie Harper's Cobb Salad

1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup thinly diced cucumber
1 cup coarsely shredded carrot
1/2 cup diced green pepper
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Spanish olive oil
2 tbsps. bacon bits
2 cups large curd cottage cheese

In a large bowl, mix vegetables, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Just before serving, combine vegetable mixture with bacon bits and cottage cheese. Serve in small bowls, garnished with sprigs of watercress if desired. Serves 4.

Thoughts: Valerie's Cobb salad makes a terrific vegetarian lunch. For protein touches add sunflower seeds or cooked soybeans.

Valerie Harper's Salmon Vegetable Broiler Dinner

2 tbsps. Spanish olive oil
2 tbsps. soy sauce
2 tbsps. Dijon mustard
2 lbs. salmon fillets
2 zucchini squash
4 medium-sized tomatoes
Spanish olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated Romano cheese
Dried dill weed
Sugar

Combine olive oil, soy sauce and mustard. Brush on salmon and set aside. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Remove cores from tops of tomatoes. On foil-covered broiler pan, place zucchini and tomatoes cut side up. Brush with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle cheese on the zucchini and dill weed and sugar on the tomatoes. Place fillets on same broiler pan. Broil 6 inches from heat in preheated broiler for 15 minutes, brushing fish with any remaining soy mixture just before serving. Arrange on heated platter and serve at once. Serves 4.

Recipes by Jean Harlow: Cottage Meat Pie; Hot Rolls

Jean Harlow's Cottage Meat Pie

21 ounces cooked beef roast (4 cups cooked pot roast, chopped fine)
1 teaspoon parsley, minced
2 tablespoons yellow onion, minced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons pimento
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Nutmeg, dash
4 tablespoons butter

For the Topping
4 cups mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon milk

Mix meat mixture together except the butter. Butter heavily an earthenware dish. Pour in meat mixture. Top with potatoes, then smooth with knife dipped in milk, then make cross lines with fork across. Brush top with melted butter, then season. Bake in moderate oven, 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. or until golden.

Jean Harlow's Hot Rolls

Use the following ingredients: 1 cup of warm milk, 1/2 cup of butter and shortening mixed, 1/2 cup of warm water with 1 cake of compressed yeast, 1 egg well beaten, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon sugar and enough flour to make soft dough. Set four hours, after which roll to 1/4-inch thickness and cut with biscuit cutter. Then brush with melted butter and put another biscuit on top and daub melted butter on top of that. Let stand two hours and then place them in a hot oven for 10 minutes.

Recipes by Lionel Hampton: Favorite Lima Beans; Smothered Cabbage

Lionel Hampton's Favorite Lima Beans

1 cup small dried lima beans
1 small ham bone (or salt pork)
1 small onion, sliced
Vegetable oil
Water
Seasoned salt to taste
Few dashes monosodium glutamate
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Wash beans, discard any that are discolored. Soak overnight (or place in saucepan and cover with water. Boil several minutes; turn off heat, cover, let stand about an hour, then drain). Cut ham from ham bone into small pieces, brown lightly in minimal amount or vegetable oil (or dice salt pork, saute slowly until crisp and brown); remove meat. Saute onion in pan drippings until limp. Place beans in pot with water to cover and ham (or salt pork), onion, seasoned salt, monosodium glutamate and pepper to taste. Bring to slow boil, cover, simmer slowly about 1 hour; stir often to prevent sticking, add more water as needed. Most of the liquid should be absorbed before serving. Correct seasonings before serving alone or with rice. Serves 4.

Thoughts: Lionel's favorite accompaniment is his housekeeper Jessie's "Chinese Rice" (long-grain rice, seasoned with bacon fat and lightly sauteed onions) and cornbread.

Lionel Hampton's Smothered Cabbage

1/2 cup salt pork (cut in pieces)
One 4-lb. head of cabbage
1 medium-size onion, peeled, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Brown salt pork in large skillet over low heat, pour off fat, reserving both fat and meat. Meanwhile, core, wash cabbage, chop in small pieces. Put cabbage in large skillet, pour fat (from salt pork) over cabbage in skillet. Add onion, meat, salt and black pepper. Cover, cook over low heat, stirring often to prevent sticking. Cabbage is ready when tender and volume has been reduced by half. Delicious with cornbread! Serves 4-6.

Thoughts: The cook may want to cut the amount of salt used, depending upon the saltiness of the meat.

Recipes by Earl Hamner: Chocolate Trifle; Standing Prime Ribs of Beef; Yorkshire Pudding

Earl Hamner's Chocolate Trifle

1 chocolate pound cake, cut in slices, then crumbled
1/2 cup port wine
1/2 scant cup strawberry preserves
2 cups custard, prepared according to package directions
2 pints fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled
2 cups (1 pint) whipping cream

Sprinkle broken pieces of pound cake, combined with port wine, into glass bowl or trifle dish. Set aside 15 minutes.

Spread evenly with thin layer of strawberry preserves.

Prepare custard until slightly thick; cool.

Slice fresh strawberries over cake mixture, reserving several for garnish. Whip cream. Thin cooled custard slightly with about 1/2 cup whipped cream. (More whipped cream can be added, if desired, for lighter consistency.) Pour over strawberries; let set and cool.

Spoon remaining whipped cream over top. Decorate with sliced fresh strawberries. Place whole strawberry in center. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours. Makes eight servings.

Notes: The secret to the trifle is thinning the prepared custard with whipped cream. It makes it lighter and richer.

Recipe works equally well with plain pound cake and/or fresh raspberries.

Earl Hamner's Standing Prime Ribs of Beef

4 standing roast ribs, with chine bone removed
1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled, cut in small pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Arrange roast, fat side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Make small slits in roast at regular intervals and insert small pieces of garlic. Salt and pepper evenly.

Insert meat thermometer in thickest part of roast, being careful bulb is not in fat and is not striking bone. Roast at 325 degrees, allowing 16 to 18 minutes per pound for rare, 18 to 20 for medium, 20 to 22 minutes for well-done, or until thermometer registers desired doneness. Let firm up 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Makes eight servings.

Earl Hamner's Yorkshire Pudding

2 eggs
1 scant cup flour
1 cup milk
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup beef drippings

In mixing bowl, beat eggs with whisk until light and fluffy. Mix in flour, milk and salt. Pour beef drippings into baking pan and heat at 450 degrees until almost smoking. Pour batter into heated pan. Bake 10 minutes. Makes eight servings.

Note: "I use a big roasting pan for the Yorkshire pudding," Earl Hamner said. "A pan that conducts heat readily will cause Yorkshire pudding to rise and puff. It cooks while the roast is firming up for the carver."