Leon County Cooks:

I love cookbooks!! I can’t remember when I first realized that I loved them but it was before my mother died. When my sister and I were going through her things, after the funeral, we found boxes of cook books dating back to the forties and fifties. There were also shoe boxes full of single recipes that had been clipped from magazines and newspapers, including The Buffalo Press, through the years. One was an old hardback book into which she had glued cut out recipes. I remember that book from when I was a little girl. What a treasure.

Last year Linda Smith, who is a graphic artist for the Buffalo Press, was going through a closet and found a box of unsold books called Country Cookbook, Recipes from the Buffalo Press. The book has a Copyright dated 1990 and a statement “Recipes from our “County Cooking” Collection, published weekly at the Buffalo Press.

See how many of these Buffalo Press readers you know.

Green Tomato Relish – Eva Williams

1 gallon tomatoes
1 large head cabbage
3 bell peppers
2 large onions
12 cup salt
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp mustard seed
1 tbsp celery seed
1 tbsp horseradish
1 quart vinegar

Chop vegetables in crock. Salt; let set overnight. Drain. Mix sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, horseradish, and vinegar in a pan. Bring to a boil; add vegetables. Heat to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Put in jars.

Crispy Chicken – Francis Waters (deceased)

Chicken breast halves
10 chicken legs
¾ cup flour
2 tsp salt free herb seasoning
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
2 eggs or 4 egg whites
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Dijon type mustard
1 ½ tsp chopped rosemary
3 cups plain dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup parsley

Remove skin from chicken. Wash each piece and drain well. Combine flour, herb seasoning, paprika, and pepper. Place in paper or plastic bag and add 3 pieces of chicken at a time; shake to coat. Beat eggs, milk, mustard, and rosemary together until smooth; set aside.

Combine bread crumbs and parsley. Dip chicken in egg mixture; shake off excess, then dip in crumb mixture to coat evenly. Place coated pieces on shallow, lightly greased baking pans. Let stand 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate until baking time. Bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees; reduce heat to 375 and bake an additional 25 minutes, or until brown and juices run clear when a knife is inserted. Serve chilled.

Pie Crust – Helen Hughes
1 cup shortening
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cold water
1 tsp vinegar
1 egg
1 tsp salt

Mix together real well. Roll out enough to fit pie pan. Save the rest to place on top.

Monkey Bread – Judy Hester
1 pkg. dry yeast
12 cup lukewarm water
12 cup shortening
38 cup sugar
14 tsp salt
12 cup boiling water
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 ½ stick butter

Put sugar, salt and shortening in pan. Pour boiling water over this and let cool. Add egg and yeast dissolved in warm water. Mix in flour. Let rise until double. Knead and roll into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into dumpling size and dip each piece in butter and place in Bundt pan. Let rise again and bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Fresh Peach Cake – Ella Humphreys

1 yellow cake mix (mix as directed)
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups fresh peaches (14 cup juice reserved)

Mix all of the preceding and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes in a 9x13 inch pan.

Icing

1 box powdered sugar
3 oz. cream cheese
14 stick butter
14 cup peach juice

Mix well. (This is very moist)