Tag Archives: perfect pie crust

Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes Round Up

In 2014 and 2013, in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I shared recipes from our Thanksgiving Dinner Table. In case you’re wondering about what you’re going to have on your table, here are some ideas.

Cranberry Relish

Cranberry-Orange Relish ingredients

Harriette Kaser’s Cranberry-Orange Relish, with a look at the old fashioned food grinder she used to make it.

Paul Kaser’s Scalloped Corn, which has become my son Brent’s contribution to our Thanksgiving Table.

Norma Kaser’s Turkey Dressing, with all kinds of good things including her Spiced Pecans, which are great on their own for any festive occasion.

Perfect Gravy, in honor of my Aunt Rhema, whose gravy was always perfect.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Killer Corn Bread

Killer Corn Bread, my own tradition, borrowed from a 1960s newspaper article about the Scottsdale Hilton chef.

Pickled Beets and Eggs, a traditional European recipe that is a must on our Thanksgiving table, the beautiful ruby-red beets and eggs served up in a crystal dish.

Frozen Fruit Salad, a relic from the days of Jell-o salads and Jell-o frozen desserts.

Thanksgiving recipes

Mixing generations. Left-cut glass bowl from Hattie Stout; top meat platter from Hattie Stout; center my own cut glass bowl, shallow china bowl my wedding china, wicker basket a wedding present.

And of course there must be pie. Pumpkin Pie from the canned pumpkin label OR…

Perfect Pie Crust.  Honestly, it is SO easy.

Caramel Apple Pie  I made it with a pecan crumb crust. MMMMM.

Frozen Pie Filling If you want to get a head start, make and freeze your fruit pie filling. The principle is the same for most kinds of fruit–just gauge the sweetness when adding sugar.

Ken’s Grandma Badertscher’s Raisin Pie is a real vintage recipe, straight from Switzerland.

Acorn Squash Pudding or Pie  Acorn Squash is traditional for Thanksgiving. How about making it into a pudding or a pie?

Blueberry Pie from a Vintage Cook Book.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner

Part of a Ham Dinner for an alternative Thanksgiving Dinner.

Add some mashed potatoes, and the turkey of course and you’ll have a whole Thanksgiving dinner.  If you were my grandmother, Vera Stout Anderson, you’d also have ham and bake a cake, and have three kinds of vegetables–but, hey, it all depends on how big an appetite your family has.

Rhubarb Pie with Tapioca

Frequently as I look at recipes from the past, and think about what my ancestors in aprons had in their kitchens, I realize how different our staples were.  What things would grandmother and great-grandmother have in their kitchen that I no longer think of as necessary?

Minute Tapioca

Minute Tapioca in its current box.

Tapioca–before the 1900’s old-fashioned ball tapioca, and after that, Kraft Minute Tapioca® in a small red box.  Tapioca went on the market in 1894, and you can read the history of Minute Tapioca here.

My mother always had it on her shelf, as did my grandmother, I imagine.  So did Agnes Badertscher (Ken’s mother.)

Ken loves rhubarb pie, but he has been after me to make it his mother’s way, thickened with tapioca, so I delved into the comfort food of old–tapioca. Besides making a nice, bland, comfortable pudding, tapioca is handy for thickening all sorts of things.

I made a rhubarb-strawberry pie by accident. Because it turned out the farmer’s booth at the farmer’s market did not have enough rhubarb for a pie, I had to stretch it with strawberries. But I used Minute Tapioca for the thickening instead of flour, for the first time.  And it was great. Agnes Badertscher’s way of making rhubarb pie has won me over.

strawberry-Rhubarb pie

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie made Agnes Badertscher’s way with tapioca.

I’m pretty sure that Agnes, as well as my mother, would have initially used the recipe on the package, which has not changed, so I used the Minute Tapioca which has not been a staple in my kitchen for a very long time, and tweaked their recipe just a bit. Be sure to use the perfect pie crust recipe.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie with Tapioca

Ingredients

  • 2 cups strawberries (sliced)
  • 2 cups rhubarb (peeled and cut in chunks)
  • 1/4 cup Minute Tapioca
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange peel (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons butter (cut in small pieces)
  • Pastry for double-crust pie

Directions

1. Mix fruit, apioca, sugar in bowl. Let stand while rolling out pie crust for 9-inch pie plate.
2. Fill crust with fruit mixture.
3. Dot with butter, cover with top crust, seal. Cut slits in top.
4. Brush top crust with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar.
5. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet and slide into preheated 400 degree oven. Bake 45-50 minutes.

Note

This turned out sweeter than I like my rhubarb pie. I would cut the sugar if I make it again with strawberries. On the other hand, if it is rhubarb alone, it might need that much sugar.

More Places to Find Food and Family Stories

I hope you’re enjoying Ancestors in Aprons, for whatever reason brings you here–family stories, recipes, food stories.  I also want to let you know  some other sources of family stories  that I’ve discovered.  I think you might enjoy these TV shows and a web site.

Learn More About Seeking Family Stories

Family stories

“Genealogy Roadshow” on PBS goes to the source. Credit: Courtesy of David Bean
Producer: Krasnow Productions

Did you see the television show, Who Do You Think You Are?  The TLC cable channel brings the drama of a search for family stories of celebrities.

And on September 23, PBS debuted a new show, Genealogy Road Show. (It may come later in some markets, so check with your local PBS station.)  Modeled on the popular Antiques Road Show, experts travel from city to city and work to solve nagging questions about ancestors and family stories that are brought by people in the audience.

I wrote about these two shows for the website Reel Life With Jane, and you can see the article and get more information here, including links to both shows.

Explore How The Foods We Eat are Influenced by Where We’re From

If you find, as I do, that your ancestors come to life in your kitchen–through handed down recipes, cooking techniques and implements–I’m sure you’ll enjoy a website dedicated to family stories and food facts, American Food Roots.  You can find lots of food for thought (pun intended) on this site, but of course I like the “My American Roots section where people tell an interesting story relating their family and food.

Meanwhile–have you read my family stories about the

Community band Kaser trombone

Trombone of Clifford Kaser

 

Trombone that changed my mind about my paternal grandfather?

 

 

Maude Bartlett's tea service

Aunt Maude’s tea service

 

 

 

About my Great Aunt who entertained a Queen?

William Stout diploma

William C. Stout’s diploma

 

My great grandfather’s questionable education?

 

 

Sarah Anderson Cherry Pudding

Cherries for Cherry Pudding

 

Have you tried our family recipes for cherry pudding,

 

 

 

Making Canned Food--Re Peppers

Grandma’s Red Pepper Jam

 

 

red pepper jam,

 

 

pie crust ventsor perfect pie crust?