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2004

TODAY's CASES:

Corned Beef Wellington

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Virginia" 
To: phaedrus
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 1:43 AM
Subject: Corn Beef Wellington

> Help!
> I had a recipe for Corn Beef Wellington that I got from Womans World
Magazine 2 or 3 years ago.  I have lost it and they do not have a website
with archives that I can find!  Thanks Virginia 
>

Hello Virginia,

The only recipe that I could find for corned beef wellington is below.

Phaed

Corned Beef Wellington

Servings: 8 servings
Prep. Time:
Total Time:
Ingredients: 3-1/2 lb. corned beef
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup prepared horseradish, drained
1/4 cup Dijon-style mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 pkg. (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Directions: At least 4 hours before serving, cook corned beef according to
package directions. Cool to room temperature.

Combine sour cream, horseradish, mustard, parsley and pepper; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 13-inch square. Cut a
3-inch wide strip from one side of the dough (making the dough
13x10-inches). Using a 2-1/2x3-inch shamrock-shaped cookie cutter, cut out
shamrocks from the 3-inch strip of pastry; set aside.

Place corned beef at one end of the pastry; spread with 1 cup of the sauce;
reserve remaining sauce. Fold pastry edge up and over corned beef. Brush
dough edges with water; pinch together edges and tuck under. Brush shamrocks
with water and arrange over top of beef (on pastry). Place on baking sheet
sprayed with cooking spray. Brush with egg. Bake 20-25 minutes or until
golden. Serve with remaining sauce.

Lefse

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "julie" 
To: phaedrus
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 9:22 AM
Subject: krena lefse

My grandma used to make a form of lefse that had a flour/water paste on top.
You would draw it on with a wooden tool.  It would then harden.  Before you
ate it you had to soak it in warm water, then let it sit between two towels.
She usually put butter and brown sugar on it.  My grandma's whole family
used to make it...but everyone is now gone and no one knows how to make it.
Julie

Hi Julie,

I could not find any "krena" lefse recipes, but below are three lefse recipes.

Phaed

Lefse

Lefse are tender Scandinavian flatbreads made with mashed or riced potatoes.
They are very bland by themselves, so jazz them up with butter, brown sugar,
and jams and jellies.

5 cups mashed potatoes
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2-3 cups flour

If you can, mix all ingredients except flour while the mashed potatoes are
hot, then let cool. If you can't, heat the mashed potatoes in the microwave
until hot, then add sugar, salt and shortening.

Add flour and mix until you have stiff dough. The amount of flour you will
add depends on the consistency of the potatoes, the humidity in the air, and
your own taste. The less flour you add the better. Just add flour until you
get a nice, workable, stiff dough.

Pinch off portions the size of an egg. Roll paper-thin on a floured pastry
cloth, using as little flour as possible. Heat electric griddle or frying
pan to medium high heat. Place each lefse on hot griddle and cook until
light brown spots form on the bottom. Turn over and cook the second side
until light brown spots form. Remove lefse carefully from griddle and stack
between paper towels. To serve, spread with softened butter and sugar (brown
sugar is a favorite). Roll up and eat!
-----------------------------
Lefse

3 cups boiled and drained potatoes
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup flour

Rice the potatoes while hot and again when
cold. Measure by packing into measuring cup
after they are cool. Add the rest of ingredients
mix and roll out on a board using as little
flour as possible. Bake on a Lefse Griddle or
pancake griddle, browning each side.

Make sure you roll it out as thin as possible.
------------------------------------
Lefse

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Cook the potatoes in water to cover until just tender, not mushy.
Drain well in a colander and cool until you can handle the potatoes.
Press through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Mash in the butter,
cream, sugar and salt until very smooth. Smooth out the top of the
mixture and refrigerate uncovered overnight.

The next day, preheat a lefse grill to 400 to 450 degrees.

Mix the flour into the cold potato mixture. Blend the mixture very
well and knead it into a solid mass. Then, using an ice cream scoop,
or a spoon, shape the dough into 20 equal sized balls, using about
1/3 cup dough for each.

Flour a cloth-covered board heavily. Rub flour into a stocking-covered
rolling pin. Keep the dough very dry with flour.

Roll the lefse out to about 12 inches in diameter, keeping the
dough as dry as possible. With the lefse stick, check by running
it under the dough to be sure there are no wet spots. The object
is to roll the lefse as thin as you possibly can.

The grill should be hot enough that the lefse immediately begins
to bubble. When a peek at the grilled side shows a nice surface
of browned spots, slide the stick under it and carefully flip it
over. Your stick must be dry or the lefse will cling to it and be
torn in the process. Keep a clean cloth handy to dry the stick,
also to brush any excess flour off the grill.

If the edges of the lefse begin to get dry, brown and curl, you
are grilling the rounds too long. If the lefse is not browning
well, but remains light, your grill temperature is too low.

Stack the cooked rounds on top of each other on a terry towel.

Let cool completely. Then, carefully peel each round off the pile,
fold it into quarters and place into plastic zipper bags. Refrigerate
if it will be eaten in the next two days. Freeze to keep it longer.

Influenza in 1920

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brenda" 
To: phaedrus
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 3:56 PM
Subject: influenza

You said you might could answer anything.  I had a great aunt who died from
influenza in Georgia in the early 1920s.  I know that they called a doctor
but I wonder what kind of medicine he might have prescribed.  I have
searched and searched and cannot find an answer.  Any ideas?  Thank you so
much for your help.  Brenda

Hello Brenda,

There was a terrible influenza epidemic in the United States in 1918-1919, and cases continued into the 1920's.

There are resources, including actual documents from the time, here:
Flu

and a great presentation on the flu epedemic, from PBS, here:
Influenza

The bottom line, Brenda, is that there was no medicine effective for the influenza back then. The only "drugs" that had been discovered by then were sulfa drugs, which were not effective against influenza. All a doctor could do was try to keep the patients' fluids up and try to lower their fever, usually with sponge baths.

Although aspirin had been discovered, and was known to be a fever reducer, the patent was held by Bayer, a German company, and we were at war with Germany during the epidemic. Germany was forced to give up the patent as a result of the treaties ending the war, but it was still not in widespread use by 1920. It is possible, though, that your great aunt's doctor gave her aspirin to reduce her fever. Aspirin was a prescription drug in the 20s and 30s.

Phaed


Tropkapfen

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "james" 
To: phaedrus
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 12:19 PM
Subject: orgin of the sugar drop donut

can u help I am looking for who made first orginal sugar drop donut

thanks a donut james

Hello James,

Other than the fact that they are of German origin, I cannot find any particular history of them. In German they are called "tropkrapfen". See below for recipes.

Phaed

Tropfkrapfen
(Drop Donuts)

1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks, beaten
1 large egg, Beaten
4 cup unbleached flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter or sour milk
Confectioners' sugar

Cream the butter and sugar.  Stir in egg yolks and whole egg; blend.  In a
separate bowl, sift all dry ingredients except the confectioners' sugar; add
to creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk.  Stir to mix all
ingredients.  Cook by dropping spoonfuls of dough into 375 degree F deep
fat.  Fry a few at a time, to keep fat temperature constant.  Turn to brown
on all sides.  Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Serves 10.
------------------------------
Sugar Drop Doughnuts

(25 servings)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar

Pour enough veg. oil into a large heavy saucepan or deep-fat fryer to
measure 3 inches. Preheat the oil to 365 F.

Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large
bowl and mix well

Whisk milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until
blended. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and mix well.

Drop batter by rounded spoonfuls into hot oil.

Cook until golden on all sides(about 2 minutes) Drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle confectioners sugar.

Spumoni Cheesecake

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terri" 
To: phaedrus
Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2004 2:39 PM
Subject: Spumoni Cheesecake

> Hey Phaedrus,
>
> Looking for a recipe for  Spumoni Cheesecake.
>
> Ate it in New Orleans and they said they order it from New York. I grew up
> with a love for spumoni ice cream. Had to beg my mom to buy it for me
> because it was more expensive than others.
>
> Any help would be appreciated -
>
> Terri
>

Hi Terri,

I could only find one recipe. See below.

Phaed

Spumoni Cheesecake
you can make this recipe with a chocolate sauce, if desired.

Crust:

1 1/2 packages graham crackers, crushed
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar

Mix and pat into bottom of a springform pan. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Filling:

24 ounces cream cheese, softened
5 jumbo eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 packages Knox gelatin
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup melted or softened spumoni
1 pint whipping cream

Soften gelatin in small saucepan with 3/4 cup water. Stir egg yolks into 1
cup sugar. Add to gelatin mixture and cook over medium heat. stirring
constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Cool. Beat cheese in large
bowl until light and fluffy. Add cocoa and beat again. Add the spumoni and
beat some more. Slowly add gelatin mixture an blend well. Beat egg whites
until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating
until stiff peaks form. Fold into cheese mixture. Whip cream and fold into
cheese mixture. Pour into crust and refrigerated several hours or overnight.

Serves 12.

""


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