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Oranges, poranges... who says there ain't no rhyme for oranges!

When I think of Christmas time, I think of oranges and other orange-colored citrus fruits. I think of picking out just the right oranges that will be the sweetest and juiciest like the one Santa always left me in the toe of my stocking.

In my collection of vintage cooking pamphlets, I have a wonderful informational recipe booklet produced by Sunkist in the mid-20th century. The advice still holds true today, so I'm sharing.

Here's to your "vigorous health"! Enjoy!

P.S. Wondering about the title of this post? Click here to hear the song.

"Magic Chocolate Pie" recipe (with a free evite)

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My previous post featuring lemon meringue pie may have made some of your mouths water, but I know that chocolate lovers really don't salivate for anything that isn't chocolate. So for all you chocolate lovers out there here it is...

  "Chocolate pie"!

Like my previously featured watercolor painting, I found my inspiration in a vintage Borden recipe booklet I picked up at my local antique shop. It was full of technicolor photographs of delectable desserts including a yummy looking recipe for "Magic Chocolate Pie". I don't know how "magic" it is, but it sure looks full of chocolate-y goodness.

Want to make this pie for your own holiday gathering? Well, here's the original recipe in all its glory (click on the image below to see it larger).

Lemon meringue pie recipe (and a free evite)

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Have you noticed that there's always at least one person in every family that wants lemon meringue pie for dessert no matter what the holiday? That's who I had in mind when I painted this vintage-inspired watercolor illustration of a slice of homemade lemon meringue pie.

I found my inspiration in a vintage Borden recipe booklet I picked up at my local antique shop. It was full of technicolor photographs of delectable desserts including the slice of pie that was the inspiration for this painting.

Want to make this pie for your own holiday gathering? Well, here's the original recipe in all its glory (click on the image below to see it larger).

Cornbread

On a cool rainy evening, there's nothing better than fresh hot cornbread, right? So I dug around in the recipe box and found an extremely faded and water-stained recipe written in my Grammy's handwriting. At the top it says "Mother's" which means this is the recipe my great-grandmother El used to make.

Hubby decided to tackle this recipe. The first thing I had to do was transcribe the recipe onto something readable, so I typed it into the computer and printed it out for him to reference.

Here's how the original recipe reads:

2 eggs
1 cup corn meal
1 Tablespoon melted fat (Hubby figured out this means butter)
1 tsp salt
½ cup flour
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 tsp baking powder

To beaten yolks add butter, milk, sugar and salt.
Add flour and corn meal which have been thoroughly mixed
Add baking powder and beaten whites
Bake in greased shallow pan in a hot oven for 30 min
Cut into squares and serve hot

Once Hubby figured out that the melted fat in the ingredients list that isn't mentioned in the directions actually was the same thing as the butter that is mentioned, the rest of the recipe seemed pretty straight forward.

Well, except for the term "hot oven" which Hubby determined safely meant 350F (177C).

Here are the steps Hubby followed in our modern kitchen:

1. Preheat oven to 350F (177C)
2. Combine flour and cornmeal, mix thoroughly
3. Melt butter in pyrex bowl in microwave
4. Separate eggs putting yolks and whites in separate bowls
5. Beat yolks lightly then add butter, milk, sugar and salt
6. With electric mixer, beat whites until barely foamy
7. Combine egg yolk mixture with the flour/cornmeal mixture and stir until smooth
8. Add egg whites and baking powder to the mixture and beat with electric mixer until smooth
9. Pour mixture into 8"x 8" greased pyrex dish
10. Bake at 350F (177C) for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Our official verdict post-tasting:

We think this cornbread was intended to be served with honey or preserves spread on it to add sweetness. With just butter it lacks the sweetness necessary to bring out the corn taste we crave when we think of fresh hot cornbread. It also was far too salty.

Hubby has determined that in the future he'll make the following adjustments to the recipe:

• Increase the amount of sugar to 3 Tablespoons
• Decrease the salt ½ teaspoon
• Not bother to separate the eggs. There doesn't seem to be any point. Instead just lightly beat them before adding to the rest of the ingredients (we're not making a souffle, people)
• Because I prefer taller cornbread, I would try putting it in a smaller pan or increasing the recipe to get more batter

Here's how we recommend the recipe should be made in a modern kitchen:

2 eggs
1 cup corn meal
1 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
½ cup flour
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350F (177C)
2. Combine flour, cornmeal and baking powder and mix thoroughly
3. Melt butter in pyrex bowl in microwave
4. Lightly beat eggs as if you were preparing scrambled eggs
5. Add butter, milk, sugar and salt to eggs
6. Add flour/cornmeal/baking powder mixture and mix until smooth
7. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan
8. Bake at 350F (177C) for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Puffy Omelet

Although I've been a lifelong lover of scrambled eggs, it wasn't until my junior-high home economics class when we learned to make omelets that I actually tasted one. I loved making and eating them from that point on.

I don't know why it took me so long, but I finally endeavored to make my great-grandmother's omelet recipe for the first time.

The first things I noticed about the original recipe-as-written:

• I'd be using 2% milk when I'm sure they used whole milk ("Hope it works," I thought)
• There's no oven temperature noted on the recipe ("Gotta figure that out...")
• There are no times for how long to bake the omelet in the oven once I put it in ("Yet another thing I've got to wing...")
• I need to use a skillet that can go from the cooktop to the oven (no plastic handles... "Not many options.")

Now I must fully disclose that I made this recipe twice. The first time I made it, I used a stainless steel skillet with an oven temp of 250F (121C). The second time I made it with a cast iron skillet (more authentic I thought) with an oven temp of 350F (177F).

I gathered all my gear and ingredients. I decided to use kosher salt instead of standard table salt. Since salt would be the only seasoning I thought the kosher would give it more flavor.

I followed the recipe by separating the egg whites from the yolks and then beat the whites with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks formed.

I found that mixing the yolks, milk and salt in a separate bowl before folding them into the whites worked best.

I waited until the mixture was done before putting the tablespoon of butter in the skillet to melt on medium heat. That way I could get the eggs in as soon as the butter was melted and not run the risk of the butter scorching.

Unlike what the original recipe implies, the eggs didn't really "pour" into the skillet. I had to scoop them in and then use my spatula to spread them around the skillet until they were even. I was careful not to break down the air bubbles and keep them fluffy.

The melted butter gathered around the edges of the eggs and started to seep up through the spaces in the egg as I pushed them around. It started to look really yummy.

In the stainless steel pan that conducts heat very efficiently, the bottom browned really fast (too fast) in about 3 minutes. I liked the cast iron skillet better because it took a while to heat up and allowed the egg to slowly come up to temperature while it browned giving it a chance to begin to steam and cook the middle a bit before going in the oven.

Once in the oven, there was a big difference between the omelet baked at 250F and the one baked at 350F. Hubby is pretty sure that the 350F is closer to the temp that a wood-fired stove would have been back when my great-grandmother made the omelet. I found the 350F temp to be the best, so he was right!

With just the salt for seasoning, we were both pleasantly surprised at how savory the omelet was. The kosher salt was a good call. The brown outside (usually a no-no with an omelet) added a wonderful flavor as I bit down through to the steaming fluffy inside layer. It reminded of the varied nuances of a fluffy buttermilk pancake the way the browned outside complimented the fluff inside.

To add a bit of twist to the original recipe, I sprinkled a dash of lemon pepper over the top and we each had a taste. Oh wow was it good! The lemony zest and the savory pepper added an amazing layer to the already delectable omelet.

What surprised me was how filling the omelet was considering that there wasn't anything else in it except eggs. I can imagine this recipe would make an excellent base for many omelet varieties, but I can also imagine that I'd have to have a hearty appetite or share it if I added more ingredients. My hunch is that adding veggies, cheese, bacon or ham would probably work very nicely as long as it was added after the omelet had browned but before it went in the oven.

So here's my slightly modified version of the original recipe that worked in our modern kitchen:

Puffy Omelet (modernized version of the recipe)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons 2% milk

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon salted butter

Preheat oven to 350F (177C). Separate eggs and beat whites until stiff peaks form. In separate bowl combine yolks, milk and salt and mix thoroughly. Gently fold yolk mixture into egg whites mixing only enough to combine ingredients being careful to not break down the air bubbles. Heat cast iron skillet on medium heat to melt butter. As soon as butter is melted, gently spoon egg mixture into the skillet and spread gingerly to fill pan. Cook until bottom of egg mixture is golden brown. Remove skillet from cooktop and place in oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes (egg mixture to bounce back when touched instead of the froth breaking under pressure). Fold omelet in half. Sprinkle with a dash of lemon pepper. Serve at once.

If you make this recipe (especially if you add your own twist to it), I'd love to hear from you. Make sure and take photos so I can see your culinary creation!

Orange peanut salad

A hint of the tropics with a dash of Thai influence... Hubby saw this and thought it sounded a lot like the strange sort of concoction a kid makes when they're home alone from school. You be the judge.

Click on the image above to download it in various sizes

I have to smile at the editorial text in italics next to the recipe that reads:

"You will probably never again use vinegar in dressings once you try the 'witching drop of lemon juice.' Practically all famous chefs have discarded vinegar because lemon juice gives a more exquisite flavor. Learn for yourself what these chefs have proved."

But the recipe calls for "French dressing" and lemon juice isn't listed at all. I have to chuckle.

This recipe is one of a set of gorgeously illustrated vintage Sunkist recipes I found in Grammy's recipe box preserved in nearly pristine condition. Feel free to download the image below so you can print it out and use it in your kitchen. Click here to see more