Leon County Cooks: Doris Pittman

Doris Pittman loves to cook with her husband, Johnny. Sherry's Shots

This week's cook is Doris Yvonne Carpenter Pittman who has been married to Johnny Pittman for 44 years. The Pittman's moved to Leon County from the Ft. Worth area about 7 years ago when they moved to Doris' mother's house on FM 1618. The couple has one daughter who currently lives with them.

Doris grew up in Graham and attended high school at Newcastle. Her family moved to Weatherford and she went to school in Aledo. The Weatherford ISD sponsored a cookin class each spring and fall semester. Doris attended these classes for about 10 years. They had local cooks come to the high school and the participants helped cook, received the current recipes and then got to eat the foods they cooked.

"It was a great way to learn." Pittman said, "We had different cultures that did recipes. We had Greek, French, Mexican, southern and so on. It was wonderful to learn and make friends."

Doris not only loves to cook, she is also a Master Gardener and has been involved in decorating the cities of Buffalo and Centerville with scarecrows the last two years.

Johnny is also an excellent cook and makes a fresh apple cake that family and friends "beg for" during the holidays. He also makes a mean batch of peanut patties.

Pork Spareribs 4 to 5 lb. rack of ribs Brown sugar Paprika

Take a large square of foil and lay the ribs in the center. We use the restaurant size foil from Sam's Club. Place thawed ribs on foil, put house seasoning all over the ribs and then sprinkle with paprika all over the ribs. Take brown sugar and cover the ribs. Make a sealed packet with foil and seal ends. Place meat on a cookie sheet and put into refrigerator overnight. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put cookie sheet and meat into the oven and cook for 3 to 3 ½ hours. If you want a smoke flavor then open the foil packet and place on a BBQ grill and smoke for about 20 minutes.

House Seasoning 1 cup salt ¼ cup black pepper ¼ cup garlic powder

Stir the ingredients together. Keep the seasoning in a shaker near the stove for convenience. This can be used on ribs, brisket or chicken or general seasoning.

Soup Salad 2 small pkg of lemon Jello 2 cups boiling water Mix Jello and water and stir. Put into freezer to let thicken. Heat 1 can tomato soup ½ cup mayonnaise 1 small package cream cheese

Stir together and then let mixture cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the tomato mixture to keep the top smooth. Add ½ cup chopped onion ½ cup chopped celery ½ cup chopped green pepper 1 tbsp white vinegar

Before the Jello mixture sets up completely, stir in the soup mixture and the vegetables and vinegar. Stir together and place into refrigerator to finish setting up. This recipe can be made the night before. Brocolli Salad 1 ½ cup mayonnaise 1 tbsp vinegar ½ cup sugar ¼ lb. red seedless grapes 1 lb. broccoli 1 (8 oz) bag slivered almonds

Mix mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar together in a large bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes. Meanwhile wash and drain grapes and broccoli. Cut broccoli into small bite size pieces. Mix grapes, broccoli and slivered almonds in the bowl containing dressing. Stir from the bottom. Johnny's Fresh Apple Cake 2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1½ cups vegetable oil ¼ cup orange juice 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 1 tbsp cinnamon 1 tbsp vanilla 3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples, Grannie Smith 1 cup shredded coconut 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease a tube pan. For the cake, combine all the cake ingredients in a large bowl in the order given and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 ½ hours. Sauce ½ cup (1 stick) butter 1 cup sugar ½ cup buttermilk ½ tsp baking soda

Shortly before the cake is done, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven. Let stand for 1 hour, until cool, then turn out. Johnny's Peanut Patties 3 cups sugar 3 cups raw peanuts 1 cup light corn syrup ½ cup water ½ cup unsalted butter 1 tbsp vanilla ¼ tsp salt Few drops red food coloring

Lay a large piece of waxed paper on a dishtowel on a counter. In a heavy saucepan combine the sugar, peanuts, corn syrup and water. Stirring constantly over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Comine the sugar, peanuts, corn syrup and water. Stirring constantly over medium heat, cook the mixture to the high end of the soft ball stage (240 degrees)

Remove the pan from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients, adding enough food coloring to get a vibrant red shade. Stir the mixture frequently for approximately 20 minutes or until it cools to about 125 degrees. The mixture will become very thick and creamy opaque and the peanuts will be suspended. Immediately spoon out the mixture in patties. Let the patties set for at least 1 hour before eating them. Wrap individually for storage with plastic wrap. They'll keep for 1 week. We use small cans with the top and bottom cut out to make the round shape. We also use 2 inch pancake forms to shape the patties.