Recipes

Recipes

Banana Bread

2 cups Flour 1/4 cup buttermilk

1-1/2 Tbsp. baking powder 2 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking soda 1-1/4 cup sliced bananas

1/2 tsp. Salt 1/2 cup shortening

1/2 tsp. cardamom 2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. Cinnamon 1 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a 9" x 5" x 3" well greased loaf pan.

Sift all dry ingredients together, except for the sugar. Place in bowl. Put the eggs, milk, shortening, and sugar in blender and mix until smooth. Add bananas and finally the nuts. Pour into flour mixture and blend only until flour is moistened (a mixer can be used if desired). Pour into a greased pan. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. A cake tester should come out of the center clean. I do not put in the nuts when I am baking it for the grandchildren¾most of them do not like nuts.

Irish Soda Bread

2 cups wheat flour 1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1 cup white flour 3 Tbsp. shortening

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 Tbsp. sugar

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 egg

Mix flour and other dry ingredients. Work in shortening with fingertips. Add egg and one cup of the buttermilk stirring with a fork. Add milk until a soft dough is formed. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead eight or ten times. Form into round loaf and cut a cross into the top of the ball ¼ inch deep. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until loaf is done. While still hot, spread butter over the top of the loaf. Sometimes I add 3/4 Tbsp. whole bran, 1/4 cup wheat germ, or 1/4 cup oatmeal for a different texture.

Irish Soda Bread

3 cups white flour 1-1/2 cups raisins

1/4 cup sugar 2 eggs

1 tsp. Salt 1-1/2 cup buttermilk

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda 3/4 stick butter

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder thoroughly. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly. Stir in raisins. Beat egg and add buttermilk, then add to flour mixture. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead 8 or 10 times. Form into a round loaf and cut a cross into the top of the ball ¼" deep. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the loaf is done. While still hot, spread butter over the top of the loaf. This recipe came from a flyer I got when I was in Ireland.

Shortcake Biscuits

3 cups flour 1/2 cup lard

1 tsp. Salt 1/2 cup butter

3 tsp. baking powder 1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. soda

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Work in shortening with fingertips until it forms small balls. This can be done in a food processor. Add milk stirringly lightly with a fork until a soft dough is formed. Add more milk if necessary. Knead a few times and turn out on a lightly floured board. Shape into a rectangle about 1″ thick. Cut into 12 squares with a sharp knife. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. We use these with mashed and sugared strawberries, sliced peaches, or rhubarb sauce for a dessert.

3/4 cup shortening 2-1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs 3 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk 3/4 tsp. baking powder

2-1/2 cups bananas, sliced 3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. Vanilla 3/4 tsp. salt

Using a blender, mix eggs, sugar, shortening, and buttermilk well, add vanilla then the bananas. You will need about five large bananas and the blender will be full. Sift together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add liquid to dry ingredients and mix at low speed until blended. Pour into two nine inch buttered and floured cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees about 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

1/2 cup Flour 1 cup water

1 tsp. Baking soda 1 Tbsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. Salt 1 Tbsp. vinegar

1 cup sugar 6 Tbsp. salad oil

1/2 cup cocoa

Sift dry ingredients into an 8” square cake pan. Make 3 holes. Pour vinegar in one hole, vanilla in one, and salad oil in the other. Pour water over all and stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. I had to resort to this for birthday cake for my several children who were allergic to eggs and milk. Most of them outgrew the problem, but this was a lifesaver. It wasn’t much trouble either.

Grandma Bradley’s

Chocolate Cake

1 cup Butter 2 cups brown sugar

5 eggs separated 2-1/2 cups cake flour, sifted

3 sq. unsweetened chocolate 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sour milk 1 tsp. baking soda

Cream together butter and brown sugar. Add egg yolks. Then add dry ingredients alternately with sour milk. Add melted chocolate and then baking soda, which has been dissolved in the hot water. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in gently. This will make two 9″ layers plus six cupcakes, a 13" x 9" cake, or three 8" layers. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until a tester in the center of the cake comes out clean. Do not over-bake.

Grandma used to bake this for us and it has become a favorite with my family. She used a whip for the egg whites, and mixed the butter and sugar with her hands. Of course it was baked in a cookstove. Aunt Nora (Honora) made seven minute icing and put a filling of the icing and chopped seedless raisins, and walnuts in the center. It was a celebration cake. The next recipe for fudge frosting is very good on this cake.

Fudge Frosting

1-1/4 cup flour 3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp. Salt 2 squares bitter chocolate

1 cup very cold butter chopped finely

2/3 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. Vanilla

Mix sugar salt, and flour together in small saucepan. Add milk and stir until mixed.

Heat to boiling stirring constantly. Cook until very thick. Add chocolate and stir until it is blended. Cool thoroughly. Cut butter into small pieces. Place chocolate mixture in the large bowl of the mixer and beat on high speed while adding the butter a small amount at a time. It is important to keep the butter very cold. When all the butter has been added, add vanilla. Spread on cake. This should be refrigerated once it is iced.

White Cake

2/3 cup butter

2 5 egg whites

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 Cup sugar

2 1/2 cup sifted cake flour

3 t baking powder

1 t. salt

Cream 1 1/4 cup sugar and butter together in a large bowl until light and fluffy, Sift together the remaining dry ingredients. Add alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Add vanilla. Beat egg whites until soft. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until whites are stiff. Gently fold into batter. Pour into two 9"cake pans, greased and lined with paper. (waxed or Tissue)Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert on waxed paper or plastic wrap. Remove paper from botton and turn upright to finish cooling. For a special occasion spread with apricot or black raspberry jam before frosting. I have used this recipe for many wedding cakes. It can be increased by half and baked in a large round or oblong pan for the layers for a wedding cake

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1 cup sugar granulated 1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. Salt 2 eggs

1 tsp. baking powder 1 cup sour milk

1 tsp. baking soda 1 cup shortening

6 cups flour 1 Tbsp. anise flavoring

Cream sugar and shortening together and add eggs. Stir baking soda into sour milk and add to mixture blending well. Mix 1/2 of flour with salt and baking powder. Add to liquid and blend well. Add flavoring. Add enough of the remaining flour to stiffen dough for rolling. Chill. Roll out and cut shapes on a lightly floured surface. Bake at 350 degrees for eight to ten minutes. These can also be formed into logs and sliced after freezing. For holidays, decorate with sprinkles or icing.

For sugar cookies, I omit the anise flavoring, and add 1tsp. nutmeg and 2 tsp. vanilla.

Butterscotch Squares

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine flour and baking powder. Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Cool liquid until lukewarm. Drop in eggs, one at a time beating well. Mix in vanilla, flour mixture, then nuts. Turn into greased 13" x9"x1" pan. Bake at 350 Degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. While still warm cut into squares and remove from pan.. Keep in tightly closed container.

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Butterscotch Refrigerator Cookies

1-1/2 cups brown sugar 1 egg

1 cup butter 1 tsp. vanilla

2-1/2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla then add the dry ingredients. Make into rolls and refrigerate. Slice and bake at 350 degrees for ten to fifteen minutes. Mom got this recipe with her Hot Point refrigerator in 1939 and the cookies quickly became a favorite. Sometime she would put a pitted date in the center of the cookie or a pecan half.

Date Drop Cookies

1/2 cup butter 1 cup chopped dates

2 eggs 1 cup nuts

4 Tbsp. Hot water 1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda 2 cups flour

Cream together butter, brown sugar, and eggs. Dissolve baking soda in the hot water and add to the creamed mixture. Add flour, nuts and dates. Mix well. Drop on baking sheet 2″ apart. Bake at 350 degrees for fifteen minutes.

1 cup shortening (I use bacon fat, if I have it. It gives it an unusual flavor. Otherwise I use lard.)

1 cup sugar (When I have brown sugar on hand, I use it.)

1/2 tsp. salt

1cup Brer Rabbit green label molasses (It requires dark molasses for flavor.)

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 2 Tbsp. vinegar

Mix the spices in the sugar and then the salt. Then mix the sugar and the shortening together. I do not use a mixer, but it would be all right to. Add egg, well beaten, and then the molasses. Stir until well mixed. Dissolve the soda in the vinegar and stir in. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix until

incorporated. Use all the flour you can stir in with a spoon. When batter is stiff enough, put in

container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Sometimes I make the dough into logs and wrap them in plastic wrap. I put them in the freezer and take them out and slice and bake as needed. The grandchildren love to come and help make cookies. Then we roll them out on a board. Grandpa made small rolling pins that fit little hands. Roll on a floured board until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with different shaped cutters depending on the season. Place on cookie sheets (ungreased) and bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately ten minutes. Cool on racks. These store well. If kept in a covered contained will keep for months. No matter how many different kinds of cookies I bake, all the family including my nieces and nephews prefer these to any other.

They stir memories of my childhood and my mother passing cookies to the children in the neighborhood. They mean Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the fragrance of my mother’s kitchen.

German Potato Salad

8-10 large potatoes 1 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. celery seed 1 Tbsp. flour

3 slices bacon 2 Tbsp. sugar

3/4 cup cider vinegar 1/4 cup water

Boil potatoes in jackets until tender. Cool to warm and peel. Slice and place in a large bowl. Add onion. Sprinkle with celery seed and salt. Add pepper if desired. Fry bacon until crisp, and removed from pan. Reserve. Add flour, sugar, vinegar and water to the bacon fat in the pan. Mix and bring to a boil, stir cooking for two or three minutes¾it will thicken slightly. Pour over the potatoes. Carefully mix with a wooden spoon to avoid breaking the potato slices. Press a plate, which should fit inside the top of the bowl on to the salad and a weight on top of the plate to compress the potatoes. Mother Schneider used a tin of vegetables for the weight. This is better if it is kept at room temperature for a few hours before serving. Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon and a sliced hard-boiled egg for garnish.

This cabbage salad was one my Grandmother Morrow made. My mother had not really learned to cook. Grandma Bradley was a dressmaker, not a cook, and while she did cook for her family, and baked, she did not have the flair that my other grandma did. My mother watched and asked questions, and became expert at all the ordinary things, which became extraordinary with the right touch.

1 head cabbage finely shaved (no food processor please.)

1/2 red pepper chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

Shave cabbage with sharp knife. Combine peppers and cabbage in a large bowl. Just before serving add dressing and toss.

Dressing

1 Tbsp. bacon fat 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup cider vinegar 1//2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. prepared mustard 1 tsp. celery seed

2 Tbsp. water

Heat bacon fat with vinegar and water to boiling. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Pour over vegetables while still very hot. You can add chopped or crumbled bacon if desired. This makes a good relish if left over.

Mina’s Spinach

1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach

2 slices fresh bread

3 Tbsp. bacon fat

Salt to taste

Brown bread crumbs in bacon fat. Add spinach and stir until well mixed. Add salt. Cook until spinach bread crumbs, stirring occasionally. The spinach will become a little crusty. If desired chop and sauté an onion in the bacon fat before adding the bread crumbs. Crisp crumbled bacon sprinkled on top of the dish, adds a gourmet touch. This is a very German way of cooking spinach, and is delicious.

½ cup flour or more as needed

1 egg

left over mashed potatoes

Beat the egg and stir into the potatoes. Spread the flour out on a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Drop large spoonfuls of the mixture onto the waxed paper. Roll and coat the balls of potatoes with the flour. Fry in hot bacon fat or butter, flattening each ball with a spatula to form sort of a patty. Brown on each side and remove. My children like these cakes as well as they do the mashed potatoes.

1 dressed and cleaned rabbit 1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup water 1 onion

salt allspice

ginger pepper

6-8 ginger snaps 3 bay leaves

Soak rabbit in salt water overnight. Rinse. Soak in vinegar the ½ cup of water, onion and salt again overnight. Add spices in a bag with the bay leaves. Cook in the marinade. The ginger snaps flavor and thicken the gravy. When the rabbit is tender remove from the marinade, and add the ginger snaps. Cook until thick. Serve the rabbit with the sauce over it. This is a recipe from Mother Schneider. The ingredients are approximate.

3 lbs. lean beef 3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. Salt 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. black pepper 3 cups water

1 onion chopped 8-10 potatoes halved

1 lb. carrots cut in 2" pieces 1 pkg. frozen peas

Chuck roast is the best meat to use. Trim fat and cut meat into 1″ cubes. Render fat in the skillet. In a plastic bag, combine flour and the seasonings. Drop meat cubes in bag and shake gently until the meat is coated. Gradually add meat to the fat, a few pieces at a time, and brown on all sides. If the meat did not have enough fat, you will have to add butter or margarine to the pan to finish browning the meat. As the cubes get brown, lift from the pan with a slotted spoon. Place on the rack in the pressure cooker. Sauté the onion and add to the meat. Put the remaining flour and spice mixture in the hot pan, and brown it thoroughly. This is important, as the browning of the meat and flour gives the flavor to the stew, and the gravy. Add water stirring until smooth. Pour the gravy over the meat and cook for about 45 minutes according to the instructions for the pressure cooker. Peel potatoes and carrots. When meat is tender, cook them in a separate pan until done, and the add peas, cook for another minute or so. Taste gravy and adjust seasonings. If gravy is thick, add some of the water from the vegetables. Drain vegetables, place on platter or serving dish. Pour gravy and meat over vegetables. Cooking the vegetables separately ensures retaining their bright color and the flavor of the meat. The meat can be cooked in a Dutch oven if you prefer. This recipe came from my grandmother Julia Foley Morrow. She was born in County Kerry.

Pot Roast and Dumplings

A large arm roast is best but a chuck roast will also do. It should be marbled with fat, and about two inches thick. Trim the fat and render it in the roasting pan. I use a roaster similar to a Dutch oven and cook it on top of the stove with a low fire under it. Brown the roast well on both sides in the hot fat. I put the lid across the top of the pan at an angle to prevent splashing and to distribute the heat. When it is browned well on both sides, place a whole peeled onion in the pan next to the roast. Cover tightly and turn the burner low. Braise for two or more hours, until the meat is tender. Sprinkle with salt and cook for a little longer. Remove to a platter and make a gravy using 1/2 cup flour to which 1 cup of water has been added gradually. Add a small amount of water to the roaster and stir thoroughly to get all of the residue of the meat. Pour the flour mixture into the pan stirring constantly. Depending on the amount of juice in the pan, you may not need to add all of the mixture. Cook until thick. Taste for seasoning. These measurements are all approximate.

Dumplings

1/2 tsp. salt 1 egg

1 cup flour 1/2 cup milk

2 tsp. baking powder

Sift dry ingredients together. Combine with the beaten egg and milk. Heat a large pot of water to which has been added 1 teaspoon salt. Using a tablespoon, dip the spoon in the boiling water and then scoop out a rounded spoonful of batter. Drop dumplings into the water. You can fit six to eight in a pan ten inches across. They will drop to the bottom and then come to the top. Simmer until cooked. Lift from pan with slotted spoon, and drain well. Mother Schneider made these and they were wonderful. She never covered the pan.

Ham and Potato Casserole

8 to 10 potatoes 4 Tbsp. butter

3 cups milk 4 Tbsp. flour

½ cup Velveeta_Ò cheese Ham, thinly sliced

Make a cream sauce melting the butter first. Stir the flour into the butter until blended. Do not brown. Add the milk gradually stirring constantly until thickened¾about ten minutes. Peel and slice potatoes. Cover with cold water until the sauce is ready. Add cubed cheese (you can use American cheese, but

Velveeta_Ò is better) and stir until melted. Butter a 13" x 9" baking dish. Layer sliced potatoes with sliced ham. Pour cream sauce over all and arrange additional cheese, sliced on top. Bake at 350 degrees until potatoes are soft, about 45 minutes. If the cheese is not brown, turn the oven up to 400 degrees for 10 minutes. This will serve eight to ten people, and is excellent reheated in the microwave.

1 lb. ground beef 1 tsp. paprika

1 12 oz. pkg. Noodles 1 tsp. garlic salt

1 46 oz. can tomato juice 1 tsp. onion salt

1 cup sour cream 1/2 tsp. celery salt

3 Tbsp. dried parsley

Brown ground beef with the seasonings. Drain and crumble. (If you put a lid on the pan until it starts to brown, the crumbling is very easy.) Layer the ground beef in a 4 quart casserole dish sprinkling with parsley, and with the noodles (uncooked). Repeat until all ingredients are in dish. Pour tomato juice over all. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until noodles are cooked. Fold in sour cream just before serving. This is such an easy dish to prepare, and it is very good for a company dinner served with a green vegetable, a salad, and crisp rolls or bread.

We moved in November of 1954 from a small house to our very large one just a block away. My neighbor invited us for dinner¾she had watched our children all day, and this is what she served. I can’t remember a meal we enjoyed more. We miss her even though she moved away many years ago. I was expecting my second daughter and named her after my friend¾Sheila.

Grape pie is delicious but it is tedious. You have to make it in September when the Concord Grapes are ripe. Separate the grapes from the stem and wash thoroughly. Then squeeze the pulp out of the hull. Your hands will be purple. Cook the pulp¾no water added¾over a low fire until the seeds begin to separate from the flesh. You will need to watch it closely and stir so it does not burn. Put the cooked pulp through a food mill to separate the seeds from the pulp. Then combine the saved hulls with the pulp. Add 3/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons tapioca for each 2 cups of grapes. Allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes before putting in the pie shell. A lattice top crust can be used as this is a very juicy pie, but it tastes like nothing else in the world.

Pie Crust

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup lard¾You can use shortening, but it will not be as good.

4 or 5 tablespoons ice water

Work shortening into flour with a pastry blender, or your hands. If you use your hands it is a good idea to put the flour and lard combo into the refrigerator for a while to make it easier to handle. Add the ice water gradually and gather the dough together, handling very gently, and as little as possible. This will make two crusts for a nine or ten inch pie. Roll on a linen towel to the size of your pie plate. Use enough flour to keep it and your rolling pin from sticking. The easiest way to transfer the crust to the pan is to roll it around your rolling pin, and then just roll it into the pie pan. To seal the crust put water around the rim with your finger, and press the top crust forming a crimped edge. I usually bake the pie in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for ten minutes, and then reduce the heat to 375 degrees until done. For this pie, a cookie sheet under it will make it easier to clean the overflow of juice.

Sauce

3/4 cups boiling water 1 cups sugar

2 cups evaporated milk 1/3 cup cocoa

Pudding

1-1/3 cups sugar 1/2 cup evaporated milk

2 cups flour 1/2 cup water

1/3 cup cocoa 2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 cup shortening melted

3-1/2 tsp. baking powder

For pudding mix dry ingredients. Add milk, water, vanilla and shortening. Pour in a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ pan. Combine ingredients for the sauce, and pour the mixture over the pudding. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. Sauce will end up on the bottom, and the cake will form a crust on top, but will still be moist. This is wonderful warm with ice cream or with a whipped cream topping. It is very easy to make. This recipe came from a radio program that I listened to when I was first married. It turned out to be a family favorite.

12 to 15 apples 1-1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon 1/3 cup flour

2 cups boiling water

Choose tart apples such as Lodi, Jonathan, Granny Smith, or MacIntosh. Split apples in two and remove cores. Place the apples in a baking dish¾oven proof. Mix sugar cinnamon and flour thoroughly and sprinkle evenly over the apple halves. Pour the boiling water over the combination, and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve warm, or cold. Whipping cream or half and half can be used as a garnish. My children always liked them plain.

Apple Dumplings

From the kitchen of: Frances Morrow Schneider

Preparation time: 1 Hr.

3 Cups all purpose flour

6 Tbsp. water (approximately)

1-1/2 tsp. salt cinnamon and sugar mixed

1 cup lard

10 to 12 apples¾ (A tart apple is best. I use Lodi¾an early summer apple or Transparent

which are hard to find. Granny Smith or Jonathans make a good substitute.)

Sauce

1 cup medium brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 cups boiling water

3/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp. butter

Rub lard into flour until mixture is crumbly and lumps are the size of peas. Add water gradually gathering the dough together as it is moistened with fingertips, and press lightly into three balls.

Cut apples in two and core. Wash. Roll pastry into a large circle and divide into 4 equal parts. Place a whole apple in center one part. Put 1 tsp. sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon butter inside the apple halves and mold the crust around the apple, covering it completely. You can use a small amount of water to seal the crust if necessary. Repeat this procedure with the remaining apples and dough. Put dumplings in a baking dish and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes reducing the temperature to 350 degrees and bake until apples are tender, about 30 more minutes. For sauce combine the sugars and flour thoroughly. Add the boiling water stirring until dissolved. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce is smooth. Reduce heat and boil stirring frequently until sauce is thick and clear. Add butted and pour over servings of dumplings while still warm. This can be warmed and used as a sauce for fruit or other desserts including ice cream.

To make a white sauce, use all granulated sugar and add 1 teaspoon nutmeg and 1 teaspoon vanilla. This is good with apples too. Peaches make good dumplings. They should be peeled and seeded, and then enclosed in the pastry, using brown sugar and butter in the center.

This Apple Dumplings Recipe won the grand prize in the Apple Dumpling Festival at Atwood, Illinois in the summer of 1997.

3 cups heavy whipping cream 6 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla or 1/2 vanilla bean 1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar packed

In medium saucepan over medium, heat cream until tiny bubbles form around the edge of pan--do not boil. In a heavy saucepan, beat egg yolks and sugar with a wire whisk until blended and light. Slowly stir cream into beaten eggs. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a silver spoon. It takes about 15 minutes. If you are using the vanilla bean, scrape, and drop in the cream as it is heating. If you are using the liquid, add it now. Pour into a soufflé or heat resistant casserole dish (it will be served in this dish). Chill overnight. At least 3 hours before serving using a fine sieve, sift brown sugar evenly on the top of the Bruleé. Broil in a preheated broiler five or six inches from the burner for two or three minutes until sugar melts and forms a crust. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE STOVE. It will burn quickly. Serve with fresh fruit such as strawberries, red raspberries, fresh pineapple, kiwi, blue berries. I also use bananas, but I slice the bananas in a little lime juice to prevent browning. This doesn’t take long to prepare, but the cooking is tedious and you have to be careful to get it just right. You may do it a few times before you achieve the right texture, but even if it isn’t exactly as it should be, it has a heavenly taste, and is good on the fruit. For Mother’s day this year, my daughter Therese gave me a chef’s torch so I will no longer have to use the broiler to brown the sugar. My friend had Crême Bruleé in Paris, and said it can’t touch this recipe. Enjoy.