The Family Table

Waffle Night! Stan’s Famous Sourdough Waffles 2010 ******* Makes 8 Belgian-type waffles. Stan quadruples the recipe for an extended family crowd. He multiplies it by 8 for a huge college crowd. Stan is a little reluctant to share this prized recipe since it's been in the family  for many, many months  and was generously handed down to him by the Internet (in the year 2010). Gwen is even more reluctant, due to her need to get credit for everything,  and her arrested development in the sharing department. But, as Charlotte Brontë said,  "Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness;  it has no taste."  So, Enjoy! We'd hate to be hogs. And, if you want a Soper's Waffle Night T-shirt, tough noogies, they're all gone (but, for a price, we can make more). BTW, Stan’s Famous Sourdough Waffle Night has become a Sunday night tradition at our house these past few years.  He was looking for a way

Nana's enamel casserole dish Nana’s Yams & Apples ******* Nana brings this to dinner every Thanksgiving.  She’s 92 years old (2000).  She always uses bright orange sweet potatoes, not yams, but I can't bring myself to change the name.  I make it every Thanksgiving when we’re living away from home (and Nana) for the holidays.  Sometimes I bake it the day before and reheat it the next day for Thanksgiving  so that the flavors have had a chance to meld.  It helps to buy yams that are all similar in size and width. I look for yams that are shaped like a cylinder (about 2-½  inches in diameter,  rather than the ones in the shape of a huge football.  [Update 2010: sweet Nana passed away when she was nearly ninety-nine. Guess which enamel casserole dish we use for yams and apples every year. Nana's.]

Challa Bread *******  Makes 2 loaves My neighbor, Bonnie, grew up with a Jewish friend and learned to love their family traditions, songs and the Hebrew language. Every Sunday she taught our Mormon young women a lot about the Hebrew alphabet and about many Jewish traditions (I was a teacher in Young Women so I got to hear her lessons). Even though she didn't talk about food, her lessons gave me the nudge to learn how to make something I'd always wanted to try . . . challa bread.  Check out h ow to braid a six-strand challa .

  Easter Babies                                                     ******* Makes 12 Easter Babies These Easter Babies (Croatian Easter bread dolls a.k.a.   primorski uskrsne bebe )  are a new tradition in our family. The egg dying, dough mixing and braiding is so fun for children and grownups—it’s contagious. Traditionally, they are made with red-dyed eggs, but we use the colors we already have dyed. They make sweet gifts and they also look charming laying next to each Easter dinner plate.  This lady  uses naturally dyed eggs for her Easter babies. If you're already making  challa bread , use extra challa dough for these babies (simply make enough dough for 2 loaves, only bake one challa, and use the remaining dough for the Easter Babies).

Winnifred Jardine’s 12-Hour Butterhorns ******* Makes 32 butterhorns. We love you Win. Winnifred Jardine, a family friend since childhood,  used to be the food editor of the Deseret News for many years, threw great birthday parties in the 70's for her daughter Ann and is a general all-around-great-lady.  Time saving tip: make dough the night before and refrigerate. Adaptable for sweetrolls too.

       Sandy Everett’s Mace Cake ******* This was one of our all-time favorite cakes that my mother used to make for us children.  Yummmmm. Sandy lived down the street from us on Millcreek Road and she and my mother, Shirley,  were good friends while we were growing up, both sharing a love of music.   My mother was, and still is, a singer and choir director in many Mormon congregations,  and Sandy was the organist in her Methodist congregation.  Sandy’s cake calls for mace, but we like freshly grated nutmeg even better. (Mace is a spice made from the shell of the nutmeg kernel).

Auntie Kare’s Lemon-Buttermilk Sherbet ******* Amazingly simple and incredibly good.  When Auntie Karey was raising her children in Montreal, she gleaned this amazing recipe  from the huge collection of Bon Appetit magazines her friend Terri Tustain had given her.  The first time we all tasted it was when she, Rochelle and Dwight made it and brought it to an Easter Sunday dinner with a cake decorated like a lamb. Yum.

Pizza Night! *******   Small individual Pizzas: Makes 6 to 8 individual pizzas   (eight- to ten-inch) Large Pizzas: Makes 3 or 4   fifteen-inch pizzas Stan loves to roast nearly everything in our backyard wood-burning oven:  pizza, huge platters of vegetables, whole chicken, Thanksgiving turkey,  baked desserts, roast fruits, etc… (keep an eye on your little children).  If you make pizza in a super hot wood-burning oven do NOT use oil or sugar in the pizza dough recipe;  the sugar and oil cause the dough to burn too easily.  We often use 3/4ths unbleached flour and 1/4 th whole-wheat pastry flour* for the dough.  “Montana Wheat unbleached flour” is non-GMO organic. That’s what we use.

Butterflied Chicken Breasts (chicken Piccata) ******* This very quick way to sauté moist, tender chicken is worthy of serving company or simply cooking a quick meal at college.  Shannon was served this a lot on her mission. Butterflying the breasts is faster than pounding the meat thin with a mallet. It makes them about a consistent 1-centimeter thick, which ensures even cooking. Serve the chicken breasts plain or with any of the sauces that follow this recipe.  If making a pan sauce, turn the oven to 200º before you start this recipe and place the cooked chicken in the warm oven while making the pan sauce.

Sunday Meat Loaf ******* Serves 6-8 A favorite Sunday dinner the children look forward to!  It is baked free-form, so it is much healthier.

Stan & Gwen’s Broil/Bake Salmon ******* Serves 10 We fixed this countless times when we lived in Bellingham, WA.  Some local fishermen used to pay Stan for his legal services with salmon.  It has become a staple in our family menu.

Image from Emily Avila Moroccan Lamb Tagine With Apricots, Almonds & Honey (Mrouzia) ******* Serves 6-8 Family favorite. After days of research I put together this recipe that comes close to some amazing Tagines we ate at The Grand Mosque (Moroccan temple) in Paris and later in Cannes (Paris 2007 w/ the Aglaure’s and Daniel Hieramente—and the restaurant in Cannes with Stan).  Mrouzia (this salty-sweet tagine) is one of the most important dishes of Moroccan cuisine.  It is traditionally made after the celebration of Aid el Kebir ("Feast of the Slaughter of the Lamb"),  an occasion when, historically, a family would have large amounts of meat on hand.  In the days before refrigeration, the lamb was cooked in copious amounts of fat and spices to preserve it.  

Auntie Lisa's Smothered Chicken ******* This recipe comes from Auntie Lisa.  We’ve made it a lot because it’s SO good and SO easy. Serve with rice on a dinner plate, OR serve it on top of a mound of mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower in big individual soup bowls.

Ama’s Indian Chicken Curry ******* A ma Shirley and Grandpa Lanny served this at a group discussion about India.  Lanny told stories about his time spent in India as a Fulbright Scholar in 1968.  He spent a day-and-a-half with Mother Theresa, and an afternoon with the wife of Mahatma Ghandhi. Best served with fresh Naan bread and Jasmine or Basmati rice.  Optional: add 8 TBL curry, or add potatoes and peas, or use all coconut milk (no yogurt).

Trudy’s Red Cabbage with Apple & Onion ******* A traditional accompaniment for Rouladen, Spaetzle, & Green Salad “field greens”.  1 small head read cabbage, chopped (or 1 bottle Red Cabbage**) 1 apple, chopped 1 onion, peeled and studded on one half with cloves Brown sugar, to taste  1-2 TBL cider vinegar  Bay leaf Salt and Pepper 1.      If using raw cabbage, sauté onion first, then add cabbage, apple, sugar, vinegar and seasonings.   Add ¼ C water.  Bring to a boil.  Add onion/cloves. 2.      Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let steam.  Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, adding water if necessary. 3.      If using bottled Red Cabbage:  add to pot, add remaining ingredients.  Cover and let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding water if necessary. *To cut cabbage:  Cut head of cabbage into quarters.  Lay 1 quarter on a flat side.  Start chopping from pointed tip of cabbage and slightly shift cabbage (or kni

Trudy’s Lovage Soup with Dumplings ******* Makes 8 Cups Lovage is a nutty, flavorful herb that Trudy Schenk grows in her garden, which I walk over to pick from frequently.  Her plant is from Germany. Lovage is especially tasty with potatoes, peas, beans and lentils.  Trudy says chives are also used a LOT in German cooking. Update: after we moved to Orem in 2009, Trudy told me she would not give me a start of her plant for my garden…that if I wanted lovage, I’d have to drive to her home to pick some! :)

Ama’s Swedish Tea Ring ******* Makes 2 tea rings Now THIS brings back Christmas memories.  I remember my mom making many of these for neighbors at Christmas time.  Thanks for the visions I still have of watching you bake Mom.