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SAUERBRATEN WITH GINGERSNAP GRAVY

~Submitted by Ingrid, Coos Bay, OR

(Loosely based on a recipe in: German Cooking: International Creative Cookbooks)

4 pound beef rump roast, bottom round, or spoon roast (or anything else you'd care to cook to death)
1/2 cup wine vinegar
1 cup all-purpose white vinegar
2 onions, thinly sliced
8 peppercorns (more or less)
1/4 C. Vegetable oil
4 cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
2 C. boiling water
10 gingersnaps
1 C. water, boiling
1 Tb. flour

Place the beef roast in a deep ceramic or glass bowl. Add onions, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaf. Pour white vinegar, and wine vinegar over the meat; chill, covered, for 4 days. Turn meat twice each day. Remove meat from the marinade. Dry it well with paper towels, and strain the marinade into a bowl. Reserve the onions and 1 cup of marinade.

In a Dutch oven brown the meat on all sides in hot vegetable oil. Sprinkle meat with salt. Pour boiling water around the meat, sprinkle in the crushed gingersnaps, and simmer, covered, for at least two hours. Turn often. If you want it to really fall apart, or have a larger piece of meat, you'll have to cook it even longer.

Add 1 cup of reserved marinade and cook 2 hours or more, until tender. Remove the meat and keep it warm. Strain the cooking juices into a large saucepan.

In a small jar, shake 1/4 cup water with flour. Stir it into the cooking juices and cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened and smooth. Arrange meat on heated platter and pour some of the gravy over it. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Ruth's version: Leave the gingersnaps out until you want to thicken the gravy, and use more of them if you want, along with extra ginger if they're the mild snaps. Deglaze the Dutch oven; otherwise some of the good stuff stuck to it gets lost. [i.e. make the gravy right in the cook pot and skip the saucepan entirely] Put meat on a hot platter and slice. Put gravy in a gravy boat, and use it to pour over meat and either mashed potatoes or potato pancakes. Serve homemade applesauce with the potatoes too. Sour cream is optional. The meat may make leftovers, but rarely the gravy.:-)

SADIE'S FRUIT CAKE

~Submitted by Shirley, WA State

3/4 c. canned milk
3 c. little marshmallows
1/2 c. orange juice
1 lb. graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 c. raisins
1 c. chopped dates
1 lb. fruit mix (16 oz)
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans.

Combine milk, marshmallows and orange juice in a small bowl. Let stand 30 min. Blend in the cracker crumbs, spices in a large bowl. Add the fruit and nuts. Stir in the milk mixture with a spoon until all the crumbs moistened. Press in a plastic lined pan. Makes 1 9-inch loaf. Cover tightly. Store 2 days in fridge. This will keep for weeks in the fridge. Very moist and no baking. Slice thin.

CORN CAKES WITH CHILES AND SQUASH

~Submitted by Rita, London, England

Ingredients:
1 cup cubed sunblossom squash (1/2-inch cubes)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh jalapeno or Poblano chile
Seasoned salt
2/3 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small egg
2/3 cup milk or soy milk
1/4 cup unrefined vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup grated smoked Gouda cheese (or smoked Cheddar)

Saut?© squash and chilies in a little water over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add seasoned salt to taste. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate cup or small bowl, lightly beat egg and milk together. Add milk-egg mixture, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, and honey to dry ingredients and stir until batter is smooth, about 30 to 40 strokes.

Add squash to mixture and cheese to batter.

Brush the bottom of a nonstick skillet with a small amount of oil over medium heat and spoon portions of batter equaling 2 tablespoons per pancake into heated skillet. Cook each corn cake until both sides have browned. Serve immediately.

MINTED TOMATOES

~Submitted by Larry Holmes, Ontario, Canada

2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
2 pounds Roma tomatoes

In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in mint. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Slice tomatoes and place in a medium bowl. Pour vinegar mixture over tomatoes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

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For Two...

THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY?® CHICKEN MADEIRA

~Submitted by Maggie, TX

(See web version of newsletter for photo!)

Serves 2 - 4, depending upon appetites

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
8 asparagus spears
4 mozzarella cheese slices

Madeira Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
3 cups Madeira wine
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover each chicken breast with plastic wrap then use a mallet to flatten the chicken to about 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.

2. Saut?© the chicken fillets for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until the chicken has browned just a bit. Remove chicken fillets from the pan and wrap them together in foil to keep the fillets warm while you make the sauce. Don't clean the pan. You want all that cooked-on goodness to stay in the skillet to help make the sauce.

3. With the heat still on medium, add two tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms and saut?© for about two minutes. Add the Madeira wine, beef stock, butter and pepper. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce has reduce to about 1/4 of its original volume. When the sauce is done it will have thickened and turned a dark brown color.

4. As the sauce is simmering, bring a medium saucepan filled about halfway with water to a boil. Add a little salt to the water. Toss the asparagus into the water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus spears. Drop the asparagus in a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking. The asparagus should be slightly tender when done, not mushy.

5. Set oven to broil. Prepare the dish by arranging the cooked chicken fillets on a baking pan. Cross two asparagus spears over each fillet, then cover each with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Broil the fillets for 3 to 4 minutes or until light brown spots begin to appear on the cheese.

6. To serve, arrange two chicken breasts on each plate, then spoon 3 or 4 tablespoons of Madeira sauce over the chicken on each plate.