Festival sparks talk of fall recipes

smcclanahan

A couple of weekends ago, we visited the Fall Festival at the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna, Mo. Hidden in a small little town north of Cape Girardeau, this memorial was the site for a fabulous variety of crafting and workings of days gone by. Blacksmithing, broom making, butchering, butter churning, corn shucking and shelling, picket fence weaving, soap making and many other events were all taking place as we made our way around the grounds.

As my sisters and I walked around, we pondered about having to do all of these things everyday just to survive. We quickly decided that maybe those were wonderful days of fewer temptations than today, but that we would not like to go back and live that way now.

While visiting the festival, I was introduced to a couple of cookbooks that were available for purchase. I would like to share a few recipes with you today from each of the books.

Pork Loin Roast

2 (15-ounce) cans sliced mango, drained

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

3/4 cup lemon-lime carbonated beverage

1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) boneless pork loin roast, well-trimmed

1/4 cup flaked coconut, toasted

Process mangos in food processor until smooth. Pour 2 cups mango puree in dish or plastic bag. Add onion, garlic, honey, soy sauce, ginger and carbonated beverage to dish or bag; stir well. Add roast, turning to coat. Cover or seal. Refrigerate 6 to 8 hours, turning occasionally. Remove roast, reserving 1/2 cup of marinade. Place roast on a rack in a lightly greased broiler pan; pour reserved 1/2 cup marinade mixture over roast. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until meat thermometer reaches 160 degrees in the thickest part of the roast. Broil 6 inches from heat, 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove roast to platter and keep warm; reserve 1/4 cup drippings in broiler pan. Add remaining mango puree to pan drippings; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sauce is thoroughly heated. Sprinkle coconut over roast; serve with sauce. Makes 8 servings.

Apple-Cranberry Casserole

3 cups unpeeled tart apples, sliced

2 cups raw cranberries

1 cup sugar

Mix the cranberries and apples; pour in a 9-by-13-inch casserole. Sprinkle with sugar.

For the crust: 1 stick margarine, 1/3 cup flour, 1 cup uncooked oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Melt margarine and add the flour, oats, brown sugar and nuts. Pour this mixture over the apple and cranberries. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Dessert

1 (16-ounce) package pound cake mix

3 eggs, divided

2 tablespoons butter, melted

4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, divided

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts

Whipped cream, optional

In a small mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 1 egg, butter and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice. Beat on low until mixture is crumbly. Press into bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add condensed milk, remaining 2 eggs, pumpkin, remaining pie spice, cinnamon and salt. Mix until blended. Pour into crust; sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until set. Cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, cut into squares and top with whipped cream, if desired. Serves 12 to 15.

Oven Caramel Corn

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon butter flavor, optional

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 jar peanuts

1 cup margarine

1 teaspoon salt

8 quarts popped corn

Combine sugar, margarine, syrup, salt and flavoring. Bring to boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Pour over popcorn in large roasting pan. Mix well. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour 20 minutes; stirring every 20 minutes. The baking dries it out. Coating sticks better to hot-air popped popcorn, but regular popcorn has an added flavor.

Caramel Apple Coffeecake

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups chopped, peeled apples

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy; gradually add sugar. Blend in oil and vanilla. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; add to egg mixture. Stir in apples and pecans. Pour into greased 10-inch tube pan; bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake to serving platter. For the topping: 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1/4 cup milk, pinch salt, 1 cup packed brown sugar. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan; boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly; slowly pour over warm cake. Some topping will down onto the serving plate. Yields 12 to 15 servings.

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I would encourage you to mark your calendars for next year and try to attend this great little fall festival. I don't think you will be disappointed at all.

It is time once again to wrap this up for another week. Until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.