Welcome to My Kitchen

Deutschesfest is always a bustling week in Odessa. Though local residents have been planning for a year and busily making preparations over the summer months, many things can’t be done until the last minute. Vegetable gardens burst at the seams with produce that needs attention and peaches, pears and apples tend to ripen at the same time. This weeks recipes will help take care of some of the bounty as well as providing interesting fare for your festival-going company.

German Hot Potato Salad, attributed to Mrs. Ben Janke in the soon-to-be-available Unser Taeg-lich Brot, The Staff of Life V Cookbook put out by the Odessa Hospital Auxiliary, is my favorite German potato salad recipe. Cooking and dicing the potatoes and bacon ahead of time makes this a quick dish to prepare for company or family meals.

German Hot Potato Salad

6 medium potatoes, cooked in their jackets (not peeled)

6 slices bacon

1/4 cup finely minced onion

2 Tbsp finely chopped green pepper

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 tsp salt (I use less)

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp minced parsley

Peel and dice or slice potatoes. Set aside.

Using an electric frying pan, set temperature at 325 degrees ( medium temperature if using a skillet on stove top). Fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Reduce heat to simmer (190-200 degrees or medium low on stove top). Combine potatoes with onion, green pepper, sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar and water. Add to frying pan, cover and heat thoroughly until onion and green pepper are desired doneness and mixture is hot. Stir occasionally. Sprinkle crumbled bacon and parsley over potatoes. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.

Sometimes it pays to read all the way to the bottom of the page. At the very end of the Kraft Foods e-newsletter for August was a recipe for Summer Squash Pizza. I tweaked the recipe slightly to suit what I had on hand, but am printing the recipe as it appeared in the newsletter with the changes and additions I made in parentheses.

Summer Squash Pizza

1 ready-to-use baked 12-inch pizza crust (I used pizza dough, recipe follows)

2 large plum tomatoes, sliced

3 Tbsp Tuscan House Italian Dressing and Marinade, divided (I used Zesty Italian)

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

1 yellow squash, thinly sliced (4 cups total sliced squash)

1 1/2 cups Kraft Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 cup Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

(2 Tbsp catsup)

(smoked paprika)

Preheat oven to 450. Place crust on baking sheet or pizza pan. Arrange tomato slices on crust and brush tomatoes and crust with 1 Tbsp of dressing (I mixed the dressing with 2 Tbsp catsup).

Heat remaining dressing in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add zucchini and yellow squash (4 cups total); cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Arrange over tomatoes and top with cheeses. (Sprinkle with smoked paprika).

Bake 10 to 12 minutes (18 to 20 minutes if using fresh dough), or until crust is golden brown and mozzarella is melted. Sprinkle with basil, cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Note: squash mixture may be cooked, cooled and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw and drain before using. I plan to try replacing the mozzarella cheese with pepper-jack cheese for a spicy version. Using all zucchini would work fine if you don’t have yellow squash available.

Pizza Dough

1/4 cup butter or shortening

1/2 cup milk

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt

In a medium microwave-safe bowl combine butter and milk. Cover loosely and microwave on medium high 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir to completely melt butter and cool to lukewarm. Stir in yeast and let stand 10 minutes. Add flour and salt and mix thoroughly to form a soft dough. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover with bowl. Let rise 30 minutes. Roll or pat dough to 1/4 inch thick and place on baking sheet or pizza pan. Top as desired. Bake 18-20 minutes at 425-450 degrees or per pizza recipe directions.

Impossible Pie recipes have been around for decades. The Bisquick baking mix people made this quick method of creating a pie thet is popular and there are no end of variations. Impossible French Apple Pie has been in my collection of favorites since 1983. Though it takes an hour to bake, preparation is quick so you can get it in the oven early in the day while you can still cool the house with open windows.

Impossible French Apple Pie

6 cups sliced, pared tart apples

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup Bisquick baking mix

2 eggs

2 Tbsp soft butter

Streusel Topping:

1 cup Bisquick baking mix

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 Tbsp firm butter

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 10x1½ inch pie plate and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine apples and spices. Turn mixture into prepared pie plate. Combine sugar, milk, Bisquick, eggs and butter in blender and whirl 15 seconds on high or until smooth. Pour mixture over apples in pie plate.

In medium bowl, combine streusel topping ingredients, cutting in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over mixture in pie pan. Bake until a knife inserted near center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Serve warm or cold. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Visiting Odessa for Deutschesfest? Send in any favorite recipes you would like to share with Odessa cooks. Write FEST RECIPE on your submission and include your mailing address and I will send you a copy of The Odessa Record issue we print it in. All recipe submissions may be sent to Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159 or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Colchicums are blooming right on time.