This is the May 2013 issue edition of Looking for a Recipe.
Email us at lookingforarecipe@americastestkitchen.com and tell us what recipe you’re looking for. (Make sure to include your name and mailing address.) Ever so often, we’ll share your submissions here, and we’ll feature some in a future issue of Cook’s Country magazine.
And if you happen to have one of the sought-after recipes in your recipe Rolodex, please leave us a comment. May many more lost recipes be found!
Jewish Honey Cake
From Avi Mandell, White Plains, N.Y.
I’ve been trying for years to make a light, moist, tender honey cake, the kind that uses oil in place of butter. I’ve tinkered with many recipes but have never quite been able to produce one that I love. Do you have a tried-and-true recipe for honey cake that you’re willing to share with me?
Bar Pizza
From Cindy schlager, Rockland, Mass.
Do you know the pizza tradition of bar pies? These are pizzas sold on the South Shore of Massachusetts, just south of Boston. The pizza is baked in an oiled metal pan. The crust is buttery and gets really crisp, especially at the edges. I’d love to figure out how to make it at home. Does anyone have a recipe?
Pittsburgh Barbecue Chipped Ham Sandwiches
From Mary Birnie, Chantilly, Va.
Does anybody know how to make a proper barbecue chipped ham sandwich, like those I used to eat at school cafeterias in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area? I moved away several years ago, and not a soul I’ve met since has ever even heard of this sandwich.
Caramel Apple Blossoms
From Deborah Johnson, Two Harbors, Minn.
Do any of you know apple blossoms? They are similar to apple dumplings, but there is caramel inside, too, not just fruit. I’ve heard that the recipe was developed in the 1930s and that home bakers won many a contest with them. Lately, I’ve noticed that a company named Chudleigh’s is selling “blossoms” to supermarkets. I’d rather prepare them myself, but I don’t know how to make a good version. Can you help?
Fig Bars
From Joanna Cossette, Miami, Fla.
I grew up in New Jersey and my father used to bring these bars home from New York City for me and my sister. They were very simple: fig jam with pie dough on either side and a light glaze on top. I’d love to make these to surprise my sister.
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The Slice blog at Serious Eats has an article and recipe on bar pizza: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/04/the-pizza-lab-how-to-make-bar-pies-at-home-star-tavern-colony-grill-pepperoni-bar-pizza-recipe.html
I have made a Jewish Honey Cake and the recipe uses oil, not butter. You can find the recipe here: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/09/29/honey-cake-recipe/
Also, I am from Pittsburgh! I grew up on hot chipped ham sandwiches
I shared my mom’s recipe last year; you can find it here: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/01/23/chipped-ham-bbq-sandwiches/
Here is a link to a Pittsburgh Post Gazette article about Islay’a chipped ham barbecue. http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/food/the-barbecued-chipped-ham-sandwich-still-rules-662704/
I doubt if you will be able to get Pittsburgh stle chipped ham
You can buy chipped ham here -http://www.pennmac.com/items/3975//isalys-chipped-chopped-ham at Pennsylvania Macaroni Company. I had some sent as a Christmas gift and the recipient said it was very good. They also sell bottled BBQ sauce on the site but I’ve never tried it, I would rather make my own.
Regarding Honey Cake – if you googled it as Rosh Hashana and Pareve (no dairy) you’d find many – I have to dig out my old one that i put away after Rosh Hashana – but some you’d like might be from Epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Honey-Cake-108525) or Smitten Kitchen (http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/09/majestic-and-moist-honey-cake/)
the smitten kitchen one is closest to the one i’ve used with coffee, orange juice and whiskey.
if you prefer to not use alcohol – the one most copied (and tinkered with) is Marcy Goldman’s (http://www.jewishfood-list.com/recipes/cake/honcake/honcakemarcyg01.html)
My mother always made the ham barbeques with equal parts Pepsi and Heinz Ketchup. I also like them with sweet relish.
Good luck with getting chipped ham!
For chipped ham sandwiches, in a pinch you can go to your local deli counter and buy baked ham … just make sure you let them know to “chip” it, not just slice it thin. The recipe we’ve used is very simple: melt 1 stick of butter, saute 1 chopped yellow onion until translucent, add two bottles of Heinz chili sauce (swish out each bottle with a little water), bring to a boil, then add the chipped ham and let simmer for 20-30 minutes.
I’m also a Pittsburgh ex-pat living in Northern Virginia. Here is the recipe my family has always used to make ham barbecues. It’s a “vinegary” sauce, but the butter mellows out the sharpness of the vinegar. I believe the recipe originally came from a Heinz company recipe book.
Barbecue Sauce for Chipped Ham Barbecues
Combine then bring to a boil:
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon brown mustard
2 tablespoons chopped onions
½ cup chili sauce or ketchup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 pound chipped ham
Cook sauce for 15 minutes, until flavors are well-blended. Add chipped ham and continue heating until meat is hot. Serve meat on buns.
Roberta Heintz
3015 20th Court South
Arlington, VA 22204
I second the nominations above for the SmittenKitchen and the Marcy Goldman honey cakes (Smitten’s is a variation of Marcy’s). Here is my version which comes from both:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flavorful honey (such as orange blossom, or buckwheat)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup brewed strong coffee or strong tea
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup rye whiskey (or, substitute additional brewed coffee or tea)
1-2 Tbsp grated orange zest, optional
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (optional)
Fits in three loaf pans, one 10 inch tube or bundt cake pan, one 9 by 13 inch sheet cake, or two full-size loaf pans plus two mini loaves. Fill pans ¾ full.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease pan(s) with cooking spray, and then lightly flour it on the bottom and sides.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. In a separate bowl, combine oil, honey, sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, orange juice and rye whiskey if using it. (If you measure your oil before the honey, it will be easier to get all of the honey out.) Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients.
Using an electric mixer on slow speed, mix to make a well-blended batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom.
Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle top of cake(s) evenly with almonds, if using. Place cake pan(s) on two baking sheets, stacked together (this should ensure the cakes don’t overbake on the bottom.)
Bake until cake tests done, that is, it springs back when you gently touch the cake center and/or a tester comes out clean. For angel and tube cake pans, this could take 60 to 75 minutes, loaf cakes, about 45 to 55 minutes. Check mini loaf pans after 20 minutes. For sheet style cakes, baking time is 40 to 45 minutes. Don’t overbake.
Let cake stand 20 minutes before removing from pan. Wrap and store at room temperature. Flavor and moistness improve significantly if made 2-3 days in advance. These freeze well, but let them cool completely before freezing them, and take them out a day before you want to use them.