THE BEST OF THE OPEN LINE BULLETIN

NOVEMBER  PAGES 1234

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The Holiday in Europe Tour was a dream. Make your plans now to go along with WMT next year. The Scandinavian countries were our personal favorites with Switzerland a close second. Smorgasbords highlighted our eating in the Scandinavian countries. Tiny shrimp were used in just about everything, Our first weekend was spent in Oslo. Then by bus for the next week we traveled through Sweden, spending three days in Stockholm. Then after two days in Copenhagen, Denmark, it was on to Switzerland. While in Denmark, we saw one of Europe's most famous castles, the Frederiksborg Castle. Saturday night we saw a flea circus and rode the rides in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen's famous amusement park. In Switzerland, our hotel was on Lake Lucerne and the view of the lake and mountains was breathtaking. By cable car, we journeyed to the summit of Mount Pilatus for a never to be forgotten experience. After Switzerland, it was on to Paris. There we stayed in a hotel on the Champs Elysees just two blocks from the Arch of Triumph, The Eiffel Tower, Montamartre, Napoleon's Tomb, Notre Dame, River Seine, and the Louvre were some of our more prominent tour stops. One of our meals was in an old restaurant over three hundred years old and they surprised us all by serving beef steak and french fried potatoes. Our last stop was jolly old London. It seems like just yesterday we were watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, listening to Big Ben, and impressed by Westminster Abbey. Once, some of us left the main group for a meal at a genuine English Pub. I had my first kidney pie at the Cheshire Cheese. Barbara and I also were able to see "Camelot" at the Drury Lane Theatre. The night before, the tour group saw the show at the famous Palladium. On our trip back home, we were already making plans to go back someday, especially to the Scandinavian countries.

I know you enjoyed Bill Sass on the Open Line, and Bill said he certainly enjoyed doing the program. Thank you for keeping Bill busy with your calls and mail and making him feel at home with you each afternoon on the Open Line.

ROY'S SWEET ROLLS

8 ounces sugar
6 ounces shortening (room temperature)
1 ounce salt
3½ pounds bread flour
2 eggs
1 pint water
1 pint milk
3 cakes yeast
lemon flavor

At room temperature, beat eggs and yeast in the milk and water. Mix same as bread dough. Let dough raise once. Place on bench and make into rolls. Let raise to twice their size and bake at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes. Keep dough close to heat for fast results. (Roy Werner, Cedar Rapids) "Makes 6 to 7 dozen rolls"

BAKED TURKEY IN A BROWN PAPER BAG

The paper bag lets the turkey baste itself until it's done and ready to remove from the bag.

Wash turkey as usual. Rub inside with salt. Place in brown grocery bag, breast side up. And if possible, let the glued side of the bag also be on top. Fasten end of bag after folding up with safety pins or paper clips. It must be closed tightly. Place on rack on cookie sheet in preheated oven. Bake at 300 degrees, thirty minutes per pound. You may butter outside of turkey lightly if desired. This will give the skin a different texture than if not buttered. You can bake it at 400 degrees for 18 minutes per pound, but flavor and juiciness will be sacrificed.

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How about an oyster dressing and candied sweet potatoes to go with your turkey this year. These are easy to make. For the final touch, add about five tablespoons of the turkey drippings in the brown bag to the dressing just before serving.

OYSTER DRESSING

4 cups bread crumbs
1 egg
½ cup butter or 1 stick margarine
½ teaspoon sage
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 small onion
1 8-ounce can oysters

Follow regular dressing preparation procedures. Bake at 375 degrees for ½ hour. Makes enough for 4 to 6 servings.

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

Wash six medium size sweet potatoes. Cook in boiling salted water for ten minutes. Drain and scrape. Cut lengthwise into halves. Place in well buttered pan. Make syrup of ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup cold water. Boil for three minutes, add 1 tablespoon butter. Brush potatoes with syrup. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes at 375 degrees, basting twice with syrup.

There's always room on the table for hash, especially when it's the heavenly kind.

HEAVENLY HASH

½ pint whipping cream (whipped and sweetened to taste)
½ bottle maraschino cherries
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
2 diced bananas
½ cup marshmallows, cut up

Fold ingredients together. May be frozen or chilled to serve on cake.

FRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH:

Peel squash and clean out seeds. Slice and put in a skillet with around 4 to 5 tablespoons of melted oleo or butter. Salt and pepper to taste then cook or fry turning several times until slightly brown. Then turn down heat and cover squash and cook until tender. You may add ½ cup brown sugar before covering if desired. (Mrs. Bill Govin, Dunkerton, Iowa)

We talked about Chinese food on a couple of programs last month. Here's two ways to fix Egg Foo Yung and one way to prepare Beef Chop Suey.

EGG FOO YUNG

2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold water

1 cup drained canned bean sprouts
2/3 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup cleaned, cooked or canned shrimp, coarsely cut up or chopped leftover pork roast
6 eggs
2 tablespoons fat or salad oil.

About 50 minutes before supper, make sauce, using first group of ingredients. In a sauce pan, combine soy sauce, corn starch, sugar, vinegar, and salt. Stir in water. Cook over low heat till thickened. Combine bean sprouts with onion and shrimp. Then with fork, beat eggs, add bean sprout mix. In hot fat in skillet, fry as pancakes about ¼ cup mixture at a time, turning once. Fold pancake over, keeping hot until all mixture is cooked. Arrange on hot platter and cover with heated sauce. Makes 3 to 5 servings.

EGG FOO YUNG #2

¾ cup cooked lean pork
¼ cup minced onion
1 cup bean sprouts
¼ teaspoon salt
5 eggs well beaten

Combine pork, onion, sugar, and eggs, beating until thick. Drop from large spoons into frying pan. Fry about 10 minutes turning to brown on both sides. Serve hot with pork gravy.

BEEF CHOP SUEY

Sauté together one pound ground beef and one large onion chopped. Mix together one cup raw rice, one cup cream of tomato soup, four to six tablespoons soy sauce, one cup diced celery, one cup chicken soup and two cups water. Add no salt. Combine two mixtures and bake in uncovered well greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for one and one half hours. Serves ten.

EASY POP CORN BALLS:

Melt ¼ lb. margarine or butter with 1 lb. marshmallows and pour on unsalted, popped corn.

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Next time you are called upon to make popcorn balls or carmel corn, turn to these recipes for excellent results.

POPCORN BALLS

6 quarts popped corn, salted
1/3 cup butter or margarine
20 large marshmallows
2/3 cup sorghum

In a heavy sauce pan, melt the butter or margarine and marshmallows. Add sorghum (not molasses), and heat until mixture comes to bubble. Pour over popped corn. Let stand a few minutes. Shape with buttered hands. Makes 18 large or 30 small popcorn balls.

CARMEL CORN

1½ cups white sugar
¾ cup dark corn syrup
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ teaspoons soda
4 quarts popped corn, unsalted

Mix together sugar, syrup, vinegar, salt, and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil gently until hard crack stage (290 degrees) Add vanilla and soda and stir well. Pour foaming mixture over corn and stir to coat popcorn thoroughly. Store in tight containers.

METHOD OF PRESERVING FLOWERS FOR WINTER DECORATION:
Drying mixture is two thirds powdered laundry borax and one third dry sifted sand. Ideal amounts are four pounds of borax and three and one third cups of sand. This will fill a drying box sixteen by eleven inches and four inches deep. Flowers for preservation must be free from insects, and defective stems replaced by florists wire. Place flowers face up in the mixture, and with fingers and small cup, sprinkle the drying mixture around, between, and beneath the petals of the flowers until the entire flower is well filled and covered. Be careful not to displace the petals. The drying process takes from six to seven days to complete.

UNSHRINKING WOOL GARMENTS: To one pint of vinegar add two pints water. Boil garment for 25 minutes. Reblock to original shape and size desired before drying. Works best on tight weaves.

HINTS AND HELPS

One cup unpopped corn equals 2½ to 3 quarts of popped corn.

One eighth teaspoon garlic powder equals one clove garlic. Three fourths teaspoon garlic salt equals one clove of garlic.

NO STREAK WINDOW CLEANER: Mix ammonia, vinegar, and water in equal parts. Use in empty spray bottle.

To sour sweet milk for recipes calling for sour milk, add 1½ tablespoons vinegar or 1½ tablespoons lemon juice to each cup of sweet milk to be soured.

MIRACLE WHITE IRON CLEANER: Mix three ounces of Miracle White and five ounces of water. Pour in iron and leave overnight. Heat iron until it bubbles. Pour it out the next morning and rinse several times with clear water before using,

Save time and annoyance when trying to get the tie back curtains even, by pulling the window shade down to where you want the tie backs. The bottom edge of the window shade serves as a handy guide to straight living.

To teach children where their clothes are kept, paste pictures of children in underwear, socks, pajamas, etc., on the outside of the drawers where the items are.

Raw egg spilled on the kitchen floor makes a gooey mess. If you cover it with salt for about 15 to 20 minutes, you will be able to sweep it up with a broom.

A room can be cleared of smoke in a few minutes if you dip a towel in equal parts of vinegar and hot water wring it out and wave it gently over your head as you walk about the room.

A black crayon will fill in and cover nicks and scratches in wrought iron furniture. Wipe off excess with a paper napkin or handkerchief

Cream butter and sugar easily, particularly in cold water, by adding two tablespoons boiling water and mixture will cream at once.

If you run out of baking powder when you need some, use two level teaspoons cream of tartar to one teaspoon soda. This is the equivalent of four teaspoons of tartrate baking powder.

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PRE-CHRISTMAS COOKING

MEXICAN DELIGHTS

3 cups sugar
¾ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter
¼ teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Boil 2½ cups of the sugar, milk, salt, butter, and soda together. Caramelize the other ½ cup sugar and add to boiling mixture. Cook to soft ball stage and set aside to cool. When cool, add vanilla and beat until mixture attains kneading consistency and shape into small patties. Press a pecan half on each.

WHITE TAFFY

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 teaspoons vinegar
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
butter (size of an egg)

Mix sugar, water, vinegar. Put on to boil. Add butter and cream of tartar. Cook to 255 degrees or 260 degrees or to the stage when tested in cold water, it breaks with the touch of a finger. Pour into greased pans. When cool enough to handle, start pulling.

PEANUT BRITTLE

3 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup (not white)
½ cup water
3 cups salted peanuts
2 teaspoons soda

In a heavy sauce pan, place sugar and corn syrup with water. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and comes to a boil. Cook to 280 degrees on candy thermometer. Stir in peanuts gradually so mixture continues to boil. (Pouring them in all at once will lower the temperature below the boiling point.) Cook, stirring often, to 300 degrees. Butter two big cookie sheets. Stir the soda in quickly but gently. Pour without spreading on cookie sheets. It will spread itself and is best if not spread with fork or spoon. Makes 2 ½ pounds.

DATE COCONUT SNOWBALLS

¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup dates, chopped real fine

Pour ingredients in sauce pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes. Cool slightly and add 1 cup chopped nuts. Roll in flaked coconut in little balls. Bake five to ten minutes at 350 degrees on cookie sheet.

SUET PUDDING

1 cup suet, chopped fine
1 cup molasses
1 cup sweet milk
1 cup raisins
1 cup currants
2½ cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve soda in small amount of milk and add after the flour. Add fruit last. Mix thoroughly. Put in pudding mold (or one, pound coffee can, makes two). Fill about half full. Steam for 2½ hours over gently boiling water. Wrap in damp cloth, place in plastic bag and store.

PUDDING SAUCE:

1 cup butter, 1 cup cream (Half and Half), 2 cups powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons rum flavoring. Combine first three ingredients in double boiler and cook over boiling water for one hour. Serve hot over pudding or fruit cake. Both pudding and sauce should be heated to serve. Sauce can be stored in covered jar. (Mrs. Mosdell. Williamsburg, Iowa)

COLORED DIVINITY

3 cups sugar
¾ cup syrup
¾ cup water
2 egg whites
1 package red or green Jello

Boil sugar, syrup, and water to hard ball stage (250 degrees). Beat egg whites stiff. Add Jello to egg whites. Add cooked syrup from above to Jello and beat till set. Drop on wax paper by teaspoon. (Mrs. Velma Wirtz, Pekin, Illinois)

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