EnJOY

Annie, a 9th grader at the time, adds the powdered sugar final touch to PUFF pancakes.

Annie just called to report “a Christmas emergency, we can’t find the recipe for PUFF pancakes.”

It can happen, especially to family standards, recipes known by heart. In this case, I’m the keeper of the original recipe, one that Annie brought home from a Junior High cooking class. I just typed it up and e-mailed it to Annie and Sean.

Sometimes, though, there isn’t a go-to recipe.  Case in point: lamb sauce.  Just as Edison-Swifts came to expect PUFF pancakes for Christmas breakfast, Edisons anticipated my mom’s lamb and lamb sauce for Easter dinner.  Norma was the only person to make lamb in my extended family and the sauce–the heavenly sweet-and-spicy sauce–was the best part.

Soon after mom died, I attempted to recreate her Easter dinner.  I went to her “Recipes from my Kitchen” book.  The recipe for lamb sauce wasn’t there. I called Aunt Sally and Aunt Eileen; they didn’t have it.  Why would they? “Only Norma made lamb.”

I approximated the recipe and came acceptably close:  canned purple plums, cranberry, garlic, onion, Worcestershire and soy sauce.  Happily, the lost recipe was later found, in three different places.

Sometimes you need more than a recipe.  Case in point: lefse.  Mom, a German who married into a Norwegian family, became the family’s best lefse maker.  Paul videotaped while mom demonstrated how to take a recipe and turn it into lefse.  Even with a step-by-step guide, though, I’m not up to this labor of love; I order online.

Sometimes you need a referee in addition to the recipe.  Case in point:  Swifty Hors d’oeuvres. Wherever two or three Swifts are gathered, Swifty Hors d’oeuvres are there. Ceci holds the title as the first sister to serve them, but all bets are off as to which sister makes them best.

Follow the “Continue reading” link for the recipes.  EnJOY!  –Sue Edison-Swift

PUFF Pancake

½ cup flour
½ cup milk
2 eggs
¼ tsp. nutmeg or cinnamon
3 TBS butter, melted

1. Set oven rack to middle position.
2. Preheat oven to 450
3. Melt butter in 9” pie plate (45 seconds in microwave to melt)
4. Gently mix flour, milk, eggs and nutmeg or cinnamon in mixing bowl
5. Pour batter into melted butter in pie plate
6. Bake 15 minutes at 450
7. Watch and be amazed
8. Top with powdered sugar, fresh fruit, jam or a little maple syrup

Serves two as main dish, more as side dish.  Two pancakes can be baked at once, but recommend mixing separately.

Swifty Hors d’oeuvres
All amounts are MOL (more or less) as this recipe is an art, not a science.  You can’t go wrong if you are conservative at first with the amount of mayo.  Ceci and Marcy make their “goop” thinner than Marianne and Jan; all end up with delicious hors d’oeuvres.

3/4 cup full-fat mayo or Miracle Whip
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bunch green onions, minced
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

Mix above ingredients together and spread on 1 loaf cocktail bread (rye or pumpernickel).  Broil until brown and bubbly.

Norma’s Lamb Sauce

2 cups canned purple plums (2 cans drained, reserve 1/4 cup syrup).
OR 1 can whole cranberry sauce (OR combination of the above)
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS worchestershire sauce
1 TBS crushed basil
2-3 cloves garlic
2 medium onions, chopped

Drain plums, reserving 1/4 cup of syrup.  Pit and mash plums, combine with other ingredients.  Baste lamb four times during the last hour of roasting (325 degrees).  Simmer remaining sauce for five to 10 minutes and serve with meat.