Born and bread
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| Grandma Alice’s Applesauce Cake is a 100-year-old recipe from an Oklahoma family. |
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Recipe contest celebrates Made in Oklahoma products
By NATALIE MIKLES World Scene Writer
4/19/2007 4:23 PM
The deadline for the Made in Oklahoma Coalition's Recipe Roundup is just about a month away, but some of the early entries already look like winners.
Hundreds of Oklahoma cooks' recipes will be judged by a panel in May, and the grand-prize winner will receive a $7,000 KitchenAid makeover. Runners-up will also receive prizes.
Kimberley Bevins, a judge for the contest, has already tested some of the recipes, and shared a couple of favorites.
One standout in the main entrees category is a pasta with chicken, spinach, garlic and cheese.
"It's restaurant quality," Bevins said. "As soon as you taste one flavor, you come across another."
The pasta recipe was submitted by Susan Litchfield of Mustang. Hers is baked as a casserole in a 9-by-13-inch dish, but it can also be made in two smaller casserole dishes. Bake one for dinner and freeze the other for another day. It makes a lot, so it's a good recipe for serving a crowd, and even big families will have leftovers.
Bevins said there are many interesting recipes in a new category in honor of the centennial year -- authentic 100-year-old recipes.
Sandy Day of Oklahoma City sent a recipe for Grandma Alice's Applesauce Cake. Grandma Alice was born in 1884 in Oklahoma. She started cooking for her family's farm hands at about age 15, and did so most of her life.
Applesauce cake, made with home-canned apples, is a recipe Grandma Alice made all those years ago, and that her family continues to make today. It's an old-fashioned cake, with an almost fruitcake-like consistency and spice-cake flavor.
Bevins will make the pasta with spinach and chicken on the KOTV, channel 6, noon show on Thursday, and the applesauce cake on April 26.
There's still time to submit recipes to the Recipe Roundup. Contest entries should include at least two Made in Oklahoma products. A complete list of those products can be found on the Web site, www.miocoalition.com . Entry forms and contest rules are also on the site. Entries must be received by May 15.
Spinach Dippin' Chicken and Pasta
Makes 10 to 12 servings
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups Braum's shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/ 2 cups Hiland sour cream
1 1/ 2 cups Garden Club mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Head Country All-Purpose Championship seasoning
1 bag (20 ounces) Advance Fast Fixin' Fire Roasted Chicken Breast
12 ounces mini penne pasta
1. Thaw spinach and drain very well; chop with artichoke hearts and garlic.
2. In a large bowl, combine cheeses, sour cream and mayonnaise. Add spinach mixture and Head Country seasoning.
3. Boil pasta according to package directions; rinse and drain well. Meanwhile, cook chicken breast according to package directions (microwave method only takes 4 minutes). Slice cooked chicken breast thinly, and then add with pasta to mixture in bowl. Mix gently to combine well.
4. Lightly spray a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray; spoon mixture into casserole dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes in preheated 325-degree oven.
Grandma Alice's Applesauce Cake
2/ 3 cup Braum's unsalted butter, softened
2 1/ 2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups applesauce
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 cups Oklahoma-grown pecans, chopped
4 cups Shawnee Best all-purpose flour, sifted
2 cups raisins (soak in water, see instructions)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans (9-by-5-by-3-inches).
2. In a small mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the applesauce and baking soda well; add the creamed mixture, and the salt, spices and nuts; stir well.
3. Soak the raisins in a mixing bowl with enough hot water to cover them completely; let soak for 20 minutes to plump, and then drain very well. Toss the drained raisins in the sifted flour to coat evenly. Add the flour and raisins to the batter and stir until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
4. Distribute batter evenly between the two greased loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.
By NATALIE MIKLES World Scene Writer
