yduras

Irish Cream I

1 ¾ C liquor (irish whiskey, brandy, run, bourbon, scotch, vodka or rye whiskey)

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

½ pt whipping cream

4 eggs (grade A uncracked)

2 tbsp chocolate syrup

2 tsp instant coffee

½ tsp almond extract

Blend (in blender) until smooth. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. Shake before serving. Keeps up to one month.

Irish Cream II

1 ½ pt Irish or Blended Whiskey

14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 qt non-dairy creamer

2 tbsp chocolate syrup

2 drops coconut extract

3 drops vanilla extract

Mix in a blender

Let sit in refrigerator for a couple of hours to thicken.

Someday, I shall have to do a taste-off on these two recipes

This recipe is much like a quiche, but I like it better. It has a much stronger cheese flavor. It's a bit more work, as you scald the custard bit before baking.

It's from the old Joy of Cooking, which has a cute story about their bad-tempered chef. Why doesn't the modern version have these anecdotes?

It wants an 8" pie pan or dish, but depth is more important than size. 1.5" deep is best. That means if you're buying instead of making your own, get the "deep dish" kind.

You'll want to pre-bake the crust for 10-20 minutes before you add the liquid. Either puncture the bottom with a fork or fill with dry beans to keep the crust from deforming. (They actually make ceramic beads for just this purpose, but that's taking things a bit too far). If you don't pre-bake, the crust will be very soggy. This works for other custard pies, too, by the way (e.g. pumpkin or lemon).

Scald:

1.75 C top milk or cream

Reduce the heat and add:

1 C grated cheese

Stir until the cheese is melted. Add:

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp grated onion
a few grains cayenne

Remove the mixture from the stove and beat in, one at a time:

3 eggs

Fill the pie crust and bake it in a slow oven at 375 F until the custard is firm, about 45 minutes.

Another hint for baking liquid center pies: Put the pie crust in the oven and then pour, rather than carrying the filled pie over to the oven. Also, if you have two racks, you can bake on the top rack and line the bottom rack with tinfoil, so you don't have to scrub off burned spills later.

This is from my mom's old handwritten (okay, some of it was typed) recipe book. That's actually where just about all of these recipes are coming from, or from cookbooks I inherited from her. Why am I posting them now? I'll tell you later.

Anna Mann is one of the dormitories at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

C = cup
T = Tablespoon
t = teaspoon
degrees are in Farenheit (or however that's spelled)

Graham Cracker Crust

20 graham crackers, crushed

one stick (1/4 C) butter

3 T sugar

• press into pan
• bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes

Filling

12 oz cream cheese

1/2 C sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 t vanilla

• cream cheese and sugar
• add eggs and vanilla
• bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

Topping

1 C sour cream

1 T sugar

1 t vanilla

• mix
• pour on filling
• bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes

let stand overnight in refrigerator

Cream:

0.75 C butter

Gradually mix in:

1.25 C sugar

Beat in:

1 egg
1 egg yolk (save the second egg white - you'll need it later)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated lemon rind

Gradually stir in:

3 C all purpose flour

You can usually start the flour with the mixer, but eventually you will have to stir by hand or even knead a little.

Chill the dough for several hours.

Roll the dough very thin, cut with cookie cutters and place on a greased tin.

Use a pastry brush to brush the egg white over the tops of the cookies (I told you you'd need it later). Decorate with sugar (or nonpareils - red hots will melt, though, so be careful).

Bake in a quick oven at 400 F for about 8 minutes.

This pumpkin pie is very dense because it's actually a pumpkin pie as opposed to a pumpkin custard pie as is more common. I happen to prefer it, but that's possibly because this is the pie I grew up with.

Ingredients

1 large (3½ C) can of pumpkin

½ C flour

4 C sugar

1 T ginger

1 t cinnamon

½ t salt

3 C milk

Filling

mix flour and sugar and add to pumpkin in large bowl

add spices and milk, stir

Bake

15 minutes at 450°

45 minutes at 350°

This makes two pies

Although the recipe technically only calls for two spices, I traditionally spice to taste. Allspice and nutmeg both go well with this.

You can make the pie a little richer by substituting half-and-half for part or all of the milk.

We always served this with fresh whipped cream.