By Katie Scarvey
kscarvey@salisburypost.com
Church suppers these days aren’t what they used to be. For one thing, it seems there are fewer of them. When churches do get together for meals on Wednesday night, at least the larger churches, the food is often catered. When there are covered dish suppers, buckets of fast food chicken and boxes of pizza are pretty common.
I remember church picnics in my youth where there would be 20 different platters of fried chicken, and none of it from KFC.
Those days are long gone, I think. People are busier perhaps, and women with full-time jobs are perhaps less likely to spend time making the perfect signature covered dish.
But there are still church women and men who love to share their cooking and who never take shortcuts. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, those cooks will share their recipes.
Members of Christ Episcopal Church in Cleveland have compiled their favorites into a new cookbook. The Episcopal Church Women are well-known for their covered dish meals and chicken pie fundraiser suppers.
They published their first collection in 1995. Somebody decided that it was time for another cookbook, so in March they began gathering recipes.
Some old favorites from the first cookbook are included, says Bette Barber, who helped work on the project.
Sherry McCoy collected the recipes, which are favorites of church members and family members. The Episcopal Church Women got together to proof them, Barber says.
The cookbook is called “Pleasures from the Good Earth,” and it’s available now.
The price is $12. To buy a cookbook or for more information, contact Sherry McCoy at 704-633-4236.
Barber has a few recipes in the book, including this one for a classic chicken salad.
Chicken Salad
2-3 boneless chicken breasts
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
1/4 C. sweet salad cubes
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1 C. mayonnaise or more
if needed.
Cook chicken and then cut up in small pieces. To chicken, add celery , eggs, salad cubes celery salt and mayonnaise. Mix really well. If dry, add a little more mayonnaise. If salt is needed, add a very small amount.
• • •
It seems like every church has at least one member known for her cakes. This Banana Cream Cake is the specialty of Pauline Graham.
According to Barber, Grahams’ cakes are often sold at bake sales before they even get put out.
Banana Cream Cake
2 sticks butter
1/2 C. Crisco
3 C. sugar
3 C. flour (I use Red Band)
6 eggs
1 C. milk
1 Tbs. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Cream butter, Crisco and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one is added. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt, adding milk alternately. Add vanilla. Grease and flour 9-inch layer cake pans. Bake in 350-degree oven in five or six layer pans for approximately 20 minutes or until done. Cool.
Whipped Cream Icing
1 1/2 pint heavy
whipping cream
8 ripe bananas
Sugar to taste
(approximately 1/4-1/2 C.)
Whip cream until thick. Add sugar to taste. Add a layer of cream on cake plate. Cover with sliced bananas. Cover bananas with cream and add cake layer. Cover cake layer with whipped cream. Cover with sliced bananas. Cover bananas with cream. Be sure bananas are between layers of whipped cream or they will turn dark. After cake is stacked, cover top and sides with whipped cream.
• • •
Gladys Dillon is known for her macaroni and cheese.
Macaroni and Cheese
1 C. elbow macaroni
3/4 pound extra sharp cheese,
grated
2 eggs, slightly beaten
13/4 C. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Spray an 8-inch-by-12-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Place macaroni in baking dish. Mix cheese into hot macaroni. Add eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set and light brown. Serves 6-8.
• • •
Beulah McCoy was a wonderful cook, says Barber. Although McCoy is no longer living, the committee has passed along her recipe for Family Slaw. This slaw sounds very similar to one my mother made. We called it “silage.” The great thing about this recipe is how long it will last in the refrigerator.
Family Slaw
1 head cabbage
1 onion
2 peppers (red and green), peeled
1 carrot
11/2 C. vinegar
1 C. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
Chop cabbage, onion, peppers and carrot. Boil together the vinegar, salt, celery seed, sugar and mustard seed about 3 minutes. Cool slightly; strain out the seed. Pour over cabbage mixture and mix well. Will keep in refrigerator for weeks.
• • •
This recipe for Chicken and Dumplings was originally from Myrtle Dillon.
Chicken and Dumplings
1 (6 pound) hen or roaster
6 C. plain flour
1 Tbs. salt
1 egg
21/2 C. boiling chicken broth
(approximately)
Place chicken in 6-quart pot and salt to taste. Add water to cover about 2/3 of chicken. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook chicken until tender, approximately 2 to 21/2 hours. Remove from broth and when cool, slice for serving. To prepare dumplings, your pot should be approximately half full of broth. If necessary to get to this level, add hot water and bring mixture to a boil. Sift flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. To this, add broth, a little at a time, and the egg while stirring with a wooden spoon to get the dough to the needed consistency. Knead dough until it holds in a ball. Tip: After removing enough broth for dough, cover and reduce heat to low while working up dough. Form orange-size balls from the dough. Roll ball of dough out on a floured board to no more than 1/8-inch thick. Cut into strips 1 inch wide. Bring broth back to a boil. Break off strips of dough about every 2 inches and drop into boiling broth. Periodically shake the pot, never stir. Reduce heat to low while rolling and cutting the next ball. Bring back to boil and drop dumplings. Repeat until dough has been used. If necessary to keep dumplings from becoming too thick, add small amount of boiling water from time to time. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook approximately 10 minutes. Makes 8-10 servings.
• • •
And finally, how can you resist a recipe for the World’s Best Cookies?
This recipe is from Dorothy Ellis.
World’s Best Cookies
1 C. butter, unsalted
1 C. sugar
1 C. brown sugar, packed
1 egg
7/8 C. salad oil
11/4 C. oatmeal
11/2 C. crushed Wheaties,
Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes
1/2 to 1 C. chopped nuts
31/2 C. flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, mixing well, then oil. Add flour, soda, salt and vanilla. Then add oatmeal, Rice Krispies or corn flakes, stirring well. Form into walnut-sized balls or drop by teaspoon and then flatten lightly with fork. Bake at 325 degrees about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 5 dozen cookies.