Pesto Sauce

Pesto is a newly acquired taste for me, so I was very pleased to find this recipe at the bottom of the stack of my grammy’s recipes. I planted two different kinds of basil in my garden this year, mainly to eat with the neighboring tomatoes. But I think this might be a better use.

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
2 medium garlic cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. grated parmesan cheese
grated romano cheese*
3/4 to 1 cup olive oil
6 tbs. unsalted butter

There were no instructions – I’m assuming one would just pack everything into the blender/food processor and whiz away to the desired conssistency. I guess this could also be done by hand, with a mortar and pestle, but that might not be for everyone.

* I’m guessing 1 tbs. as well

Strawberry Preserves

I probably found this recipe a little late for this year, but I’ll be ready for spring 2008! Perhaps this would work with other fruit as well. I see experiments with raspberries in my future.

This recipe is my grammy Christina’s and was written down by someone else in the family as it’s noted that the recipe comes from aunt Christina and also contains more notes and explanations than I’ve found in this batch of recipes given to me by my mother. It almost reads as if the person was at grammy’s side watching and writing down each step:

1 quart strawberries
4 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice

Wash and hull berries.
Put berries with 2 cups sugar into a small preserving kettle.
Bring up to a boiling point over low fire and boil rapidly for 5 minutes.
Add remaining sugar and lemon juice and boil 10-15 minutes.
A watery fruit will require longer cooking time.
Turn into an earthenware jar or deep crock or mixing bowl and let stand 24 hours, stir occasionally.
Seal cold in sterilized jars.
The small quantity and short working period are the secret of the deliciousness of these preserves. The lemon juice preserves the vivid red of the berries. You can make as many quarts of berries that the jar or crocks will hold, but only one quart at a time.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another set of cookies from my mom’s mom, grammy Christina:

1 c butter or margarine
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t salt
1 t soda
3 c flour
chocolate chips

bake 350 12-15 minutes
______

SUGAR COOKIES

same recipe
eliminate 1 c brown sugar
use 2 c white sugar

may add raisins
sprinkle with sugar

Drop Easter Cookies

Some of my grammy Christina’s recipes are more like lists of ingredients. She just knew how to bake and cook and could just make things without any recipes. Like these cookies:

Cream together:
1/2 lb. butter
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
4 eggs

add:
1/4 cup milk
4 tsp. baking powder
4 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt

drop on greased cookie sheet
make thumb print
bake 8 mins. at 350

Oil Pretzels

These are cookies, but in the biscotti/biscuits mold and nothing like pretzels in the traditional sense. My first memory of these comes from a trip back to Pennsylvania for a family reunion. My mom’s side of the family is huge and everyone brought food to the picnic and I remember going from table to table, with my mom, tasting. I’m not sure how old I was, but I was pretty young. This is the first time I remember eating Aunt Katie’s oil pretzels. Aunt Katie was my grandmother’s sister.

This recipe is pretty standard for those my grandmother wrote down – a little light on the details.

12 eggs (warm)
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1 yeast dissolved into 1/4 c. warm water
rest 20 minutes
boil til they float
bake 325 20 min.