Your Questions About Good Home Cooking Cookbook

Herschel Lawhorn answers:

I’ve never heard of the magazine but here are some recipes from their web site. Enjoy!

Big Apple Dumplings
6 servings

Ingredients
* 2 cups water
* 1-1/4 cups sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 cup butter or margarine
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2/3 cup shortening
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup half-and-half, light cream, or whole milk
* 2 tablespoons chopped chopped raisins or golden raisins
* 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 6 small cooking apples (about 1-1/2 pounds)
* 1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions
1. For sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the water, the 1-1/4 cups sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add the 1/4 cup butter or margarine. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, for pastry, combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the half-and-half, light cream, or milk over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening dough, using 1 tablespoon of the cream or milk at a time, until all of the dough is moistened. Form dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to an 18×12-inch rectangle.* Using a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut into six 6-inch squares.

3. In a small mixing bowl combine the raisins, walnuts, and honey. In another small bowl stir together the 2 tablespoons sugar and the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Peel and core the apples. Place an apple on each pastry square. Fill centers of apples with raisin mixture. Sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture; dot with the 1 tablespoon butter or margarine. Moisten edges of each pastry square with water; fold corners to center over apple. Pinch to seal. Place dumplings in a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Pour sauce over dumplings. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 35 minutes or until apples are tender and pastry is golden brown. To serve, spoon sauce over dumplings. Makes 6 servings.

*Note: If desired, roll pastry slightly larger and use excess pastry to make pastry leaves for garnish. Roll out pastry and cut into leaf shapes. Place on baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Apple Dapple Cake

Ingredients
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 beaten eggs
* 1 cup cooking oil
* 1/2 cup apple juice
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 3 cups finely chopped cooking apples
* 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1/3 cup whipping cream

Directions
1. Grease and flour a 10-inch springform pan or grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt; make a well in center and set aside. In a medium bowl combine eggs, oil, apple juice, and vanilla; stir in apples and nuts. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Spread batter in prepared pan. (Place springform pan, if using, on a baking sheet.)

2. Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 65 minutes for springform pan or 45 to 50 minutes for the 13×9-inch pan or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. (Remove sides of springform pan, if using.)

3. For sauce, in a small saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, and cream. Cook and stir over medium heat just until bubbly and all of the sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. Drizzle warm sauce over cake. Makes 20 servings.

To Tote: Cover and transport in baking pan. Transport sauce in a covered container in an insulated carrier.

For 9 Servings: Prepare using method above, except spread batter in a greased 9x9x2-inch baking pan and bake about 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Herschel Lawhorn answers:

I collect cookbooks. I have over 1,200 + of them and read them cover-to-cover and use them whenever I get bored with what I’m preparing and look for something different to make.

You mentioned you like soul food. I have a cookbook called Sylvia’s Soul Food by Sylvia Woods and Christopher Styler that has lots of soul food recipes in it. It says they are recipes from Harlem’s World-Famous Restaurant. You may be able to find it at Amazon.com for a very very low price. Another good cookbook with soul food is called Gene Houis’s Uptown Down Home Cookbook and you might be able to find that one as well at Amazon.com. That second cookbook is from New York and Gene Houis owned either one or more restaurants. Don’t know if he’s still in business or not. But the comment made by Craig Claiborne on the book says “He is a superb southern cook and the recipes in his new book are admirable testament of his taste and talent. To dine at his table is an absolute joy.”

If you go to the library, you should be able to check out some of the other cookbooks the other Answerers mentioned so you can see if any of them interest you.

Hope that helps.

Herschel Lawhorn answers:

Http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/searedlambfilletonci_70428.shtml

http://www.s4c.co.uk/dudley/rm/view_recipe/rid/321/language/eng/

http://www.jarlsberg.com/page?id=152&key=11293&rid=167

Hope these help and have a great day/night!!!
X K