Marion Nicolay: Farm-fresh recipes

An unknown cousin in Seattle got in touch with me two years ago this month to ask if I would help her hack away at the family tree on my mother's side, about which I knew almost nothing. Now we can trace the family back to our great-grandparents (and some branches even earlier), and my file is more than an inch thick.

One of the only clues I could furnish was a memory of visiting relatives near Atlanta when I was 6 -- Aunt Nonie and Uncle John. What I remember best is the enormous meal served at noon on Sunday after we all attended church: sausages and home-cured bacon, baked ham, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and cream gravy, several fresh vegetables, salads of all kinds -- tossed, molded, sliced tomatoes. There were hot biscuits and fresh rolls with butter newly churned and homemade jellies, pickles and relish. Everybody drank iced tea, even the children, and the desserts were splendid--cake, pie, cobbler, bread pudding and rich ice cream. Everybody brought something to eat, and there was a large crowd at the trestle tables out under the trees.

I had never seen anything like it, and it made an indelible impression on my young mind. Perhaps that's why I recall the name of the couple who owned the farm.

Uncle John was 88 at the time of the picnic, and Aunt Nonie probably in her early 80s, judging from the faded snapshot I have of them. I doubt if they cooked, but they provided the gathering place for the huge family.

Dozens of cousins appeared -- as an only child, I felt really cosseted all day.

Later in life, I unearthed some of the old recipes for things served at such gatherings, thinking they were too good to be lost to modern cooks. Here's one I recall from my own childhood in Texas:

Oven-fried chicken

No real Southerner would admit serving this quick and easy recipe, but it works well for a dinner party.

2 frying chickens, disjointed (skinned if you prefer)

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon marjoram

1/3 cup melted butter

1/3 cup salad oil

In a paper bag, mix flour with other dry ingredients. In baking pan, melt butter and oil. Dip chicken pieces in this and shake in the bag. Place coated pieces in pan and bake in a 375-degree oven for 45 minutes. Turn pieces and bake 15 minutes longer.

Farm-style tomato aspic

We had this often. This recipe is as simple as it can be.

1 package plain gelatin

6 ounces water

1 can tomato soup

1 ounce lemon juice

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Small amount of Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon horseradish

Fresh vegetables as desired (see list below)

Cream cheese and nuts (optional)

Mayonnaise for garnish

Soften plain gelatin in an ounce of cold water. Then add 5 ounces of boiling water and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Now stir in tomato soup and blend well; season with lemon juice, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a little Tabasco and fresh horseradish.

Start adding vegetables as desired: thinly sliced cucumbers, onions, carrots, celery, green pepper, green olives and so forth. You will want about 2 to 3 ounces of each, measured not weighed. At the end, blanch some frozen green peas and add them.

You can get fancy, as we never did at home, and add cream cheese and chopped nuts to the aspic if you wish, but it's awfully good just as it is. Chill salad in mold and serve with mayonnaise flavored any way you like.

Chess pie

I inherited this recipe from my mother. It used to be offered routinely on Southern restaurant menus, but it seems to have vanished along with free delivery and the 5-cent ice cream cone. It's so rich and sweet it will curl your teeth, and it was one of my favorites.

Unbaked pastry pie crust

4 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons thick cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat egg yolks until lemon-colored and add sugar, melted butter (no substitutes allowed here), the thick cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour into pastry crust and bake in slow oven. (These were the original directions; I suggest 325 degrees for 30 minutes or slightly longer, until filling is firm and crust browns lightly at edges.) Pie may be served with a topping of whipped cream or ice cream, or you may utilize those leftover egg whites to make a meringue for it, but the pie is pretty devastating just plain.

My index for this year shows that I've never mentioned diets, lamb, beans, Cajun food, grains or cereals. I could knock them all off with one lamb dinner accompanied by Cajun red beans and rice -- except for diets. I shall have to give this some thought.

Quick tips to liven up meals:

Make sandwiches fancy by using something besides the usual bread -- bagels, English muffins, seeded hamburger buns, etc.

Put chopped pecans in tuna salad, water chestnuts in chicken salad.

Dilute vinaigrette with tomato juice, or add some fruit juice to the dressing instead and add Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries) and nuts to a tossed salad. One of Lee Bailey's cookbooks mentions mashing good canned salmon with hot mustard and capers to spread on wheat crackers for a quick appetizer.

Did you ever cut a melon only to discover that it was less than excellent? Dice it into 1-inch chunks and dust servings with artificial sweetener, or mix with a little honey or frozen lemonade mix.

Kitchen culture clash: Eating a toasted bagel with cream cheese and guava paste from Cuba. Very good anyway.

Marion Nicolay is a regular contributor to the Marco Island Eagle. Contact her via e-mail at mnicolay@naples.net.