Recipe Swap: Recipes fit for a 90th birthday celebration

Gwen Schild of Cape Girardeau is celebrating her 90th birthday this week. When she celebrated her 80th birthday her family put together a nice family cookbook and gave a copy to everyone at the party. I still have mine and refer to it on occasion. Gwen now resides at the Lutheran Home, but her family uses her recipes quite often, and they wanted to share just a few of their favorites with you today. They hope you enjoy the recipes, and we all wish Gwen a happy 90th birthday.

Angel Biscuits

Sift together the following:

5 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons sugar

Cut in 3/4 cup Crisco

Add:

2 cups buttermilk

1 package yeast, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

Mix together well. Refrigerate in oiled bowl and keep well covered. Remove amount needed. Roll, cut, then bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Note: Refrigerated dough will keep for several days.

Cream Puffs

This recipe from Gwen's mom, Retta, known as "Nan" to family, is another family favorite.

1 cup water

1/4 pound (1 stick) butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Put water, salt and butter in a pan and heat to boiling. Add 1 cup flour to this mixture and stir until it leaves the sides of the pan. Let this cool for a few minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating vigorously after each egg. Drop by tablespoonfuls (or more) onto well-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then reduce heat to 250 and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and split puff. Let cool and fill with any creamed (pudding) filling you like.

Calico Salad

1 can green beans, drained

1 can yellow wax beans, drained

1 can red kidney beans, drained

1 onion chopped

1 green pepper chopped

1 small jar pimentos

Mix all of the above together in a large bowl.

Mix and add:

3/4 cup sugar,

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vinegar

Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over vegetables. Cover and store in refrigerator.

Frozen Fruit Salad

This recipe is a family "must" for Christmas and Tom Schild's July birthday.

Cook slowly, stir well and cool the following ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Add to the cooled mixture:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 pint of heavy cream, whipped

1 can (drained) each:

pineapple chunks

white cherries

black cherries

mandarin oranges

Add 1 jar maraschino cherries, 4 sliced bananas, 1 bag miniature marshmallows.

Mix all together and freeze.

German Potato Salad

6 large potatoes with skin on, boiled and cooled

3 hard boiled eggs

6-8 slices bacon, cooked

1 large onion, diced

1 1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup mustard

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Cube or slice potatoes (skin if you like). Saute onion in bacon grease. Add vinegar, water, sugar, cornstarch and mustard. Stir until thickened. Pour this mixture over the potatoes. Add sliced eggs and crumbled bacon. Heat in low oven or on stove top.

Nan's Caramel Corn

3 to 4 poppers full of popcorn

Boil together for 3 minutes:

2 sticks butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup light syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, stir again and pour over corn. Bake 1 hour at 250 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes. Store in covered container.

Have a great week and until next time, happy cooking.

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