Imperial Pound Cake

Ingredients:

Yield: 12 servings

1 pound stick margarine, at room temperature (not soft or reduced-fat margarine; Imperial brand is recommended)

1 pound powdered sugar, plus more for optional garnish

6 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups cake flour (see note)

Chopped nuts, for optional garnish

1. Grease and flour a large tube pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, beat margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. Add flour slowly, beating until well mixed.

3. Put batter into the prepared pan. If desired, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and nuts.

4. Bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely.

Per serving: 525 calories; 30g fat; 6g saturated fat; 115g cholesterol; 5g protein; 59g carbohydrate; 38g sugar; 0.5g fiber; 335mg sodium; 20mg calcium.

Note: Some versions of this recipe call for all-purpose flour.

Saint Louis Dispatch

Old- Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings

INGREDIENTS:

1 large chicken (4 to 4 1/2 pounds), cut into quarters
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
8 cups Scott's Chicken Stock
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise
2 ribs celery, preferably inner ribs, with leaves attached
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:

Generously season chicken with salt. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
In a large Dutch oven, combine chicken stock, 4 cups water, onion, celery, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat Add the leg portions and the backbone of the chicken to the Dutch oven. Place the breasts, skin side down, on top of the legs. Reduce heat to just below a simmer. Cover partially, and cook, making sure the stock mixture does not come to a simmer, until breasts are cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove breasts, and set aside. Continue cooking legs until very tender and meat begins to pull away from the bone, 30 to 40 minutes more. Remove chicken and vegetables, reserving liquid. Discard vegetables and set chicken aside until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together egg, oil, 3 tablespoons cold water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in flour until well combined. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

When chicken has cooled, remove skin and discard. Remove meat from bones and tear into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces; set aside.

Turn dough out onto a generously floured work surface. Roll out dough until it is about 1/16-inch thick. Cut dough into 1 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch rectangles. Bring reserved stock mixture to a boil over high heat, and season with salt. Add dough rectangles to boiling liquid, shaking pot as necessary, but not stirring. Cook until, dough is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Add reserved chicken and reduce to a simmer. Add sliced egg, butter, and heavy cream; season with pepper. Continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes more; season with salt and pepper.
Remove from heat and cover; let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving in shallow bowl.

Scott's Chicken Stock

INGREDIENTS:

1 chicken (2 1/2 to 3 pounds), rinsed and dried
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 rib celery, preferably an inner rib with leaves attached
1 small onion, peeled

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken in a large pot and add 12 cups water along with salt, celery, and onion. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid, and let stand in a warm area until the leg and thigh of the chicken easily separate from the joint, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Transfer chicken to a platter, and let cool. Reserve chicken for another use. Discard celery and onion. Strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve and carefully skim fat from the surface, if using stock immediately. Or, cool stock to room temperature and refrigerate overnight; remove solidified fat before using.

Scott Peacock

Cajun Chicken Stew

This savory Cajun Chicken Stew Recipe is easy to prepare, but the one common mistake folks make is trying to prepare a chicken stew with young fryers. A mature hen makes a better stew. The reason why? The meat on a young chicken will fall apart quickly during the cooking process. It takes longer to cook a hen and therefore all of the herbs and spices have more time to come together to create the savory taste.

Ingredients

1 four to five pound hen cut into pieces (never use fryer)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup all-purpose four
2 cups onions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
prepare roux with flour and oil until brown in color
add onions, celery and chicken
cook 2 to 3 minutes before adding water, garlic, bell pepper and seasoning
simmer in covered pot until hen is tender (around 1 1/2 hours)
add more water if needed

Serve over cooked rice. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Note: You may substitute the wet roux with 1/2 cup of powdered gumbo roux.

www.realcajuncooking.com

Yeast Biscuits

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon yeast
1⁄4 cup water
2 1⁄2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1⁄2 cup shortening
1 cup buttermilk (OR 1 cup milk, soured with 1 tbsp vinegar added)


DIRECTIONS:

Dissolve yeast in water, set aside.

Mix dry ingredients in order given; cut in shortening until the size of small Lima beans.
Stir in buttermilk and yeast mixture.

Cover bowl with towel and let sit until ready to use. (At least 1 hour, but it is fine if it sits for a couple hours.) Dough will be very sticky.

Scrape out onto well floured board.

Flip over and knead lightly (4-6 times).

Roll out and cut with biscuit cutter.

Place on greased pan and let raise slightly (10-30 minutes).
Bake at 400 F until light brown, 10-12 minutes.

By Windchime

Candied Sweet Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1⁄4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
4 sweet potatoes, boiled & peeled (I prefer to bake for richer flavored potatoes)

DIRECTIONS:

Boil sweet potatoes in skins for 15 minutes, rinse with cool water and remove skins.

Mix brown sugar and water in sauce pan, and boil together for 5-minutes, stirring frequently forming a syrup.
Add butter and stir until dissolved. Add salt and remove from heat.

Cut sweet potatoes in quarters lengthwise with cut side down in a
greased 9"x12" baking dish.

Pour syrup mixture over the sweet potatoes, cover them and bake at a 350° F oven for 60-minutes.

Baste sweet potatoes with syrup in the pan.

Turn them over every 10-minutes.

Remove from oven.

Old-Fashioned Biscuits ( as shown on Clabber Girl can)

This is the classic baking powder biscuit recipe that can be found on the back of the Clabber Girl Baking Powder can. You need to ensure your oven is very hot and ready to go before putting in the biscuits inside.

INGREDIENTS

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. Clabber Girl Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. shortening
3/4 c. milk
1 tbsp. butter softened
Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, Clabber Girl Baking Powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk all at once. Using a fork, stir just until moistened and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (dough will be sticky).

On a floured surface, lightly knead dough with floured hands for 30 seconds or until nearly smooth. Lightly roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts.

Place biscuits close together on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with soft margarine. Bake in a 475° oven for 11 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Makes about 8 - 10 biscuits

www.clabbergirl.com

Grits

INGREDIENTS:


   3      cups water
   1 1/2  cups grits,  white (not instant)
   1      tablespoon  salt

 Heat the water to boiling in a large saucepan over medium
 heat. Pour in the grits very gradually, stirring the whole time
 to prevent lumps.  Add the salt, reduce the heat to low (one
 or two bubbles should rise to the top at a time), and cook,
 stirring constantly, until tender, about 10 minutes. Grits
 should be as thick as oatmeal, not runny or stiff.  If the grits
 get too thick toward the end of the cooking time, stir in a
 little hot water. Serve hot.