Featured Recipes:
Cataloochee Puffed
Toast or Pain Perdue (Lost Bread)
This is a favorite and makes a great brunch item for special guests, and m aybe the family special on Sunday morning. This recipe serves about 8,
and you can figure about 1 1/2 diagonal slices per person.
Ingredients:
.
Directions:
Slice 12 pieces of bread on the diagonal. It works best if you cut theslices of bread the night before and 1eave them out in the air overnight.
Make the above batter.
Mix dry ingredients, and then mix in liquids. The batter should be quite thick. Coat each slice of bread liberally. Drop into about two inches of hot
(375¡F) shortening. Turn when the underside is brown. Brown both sides and
drain on paper towel. To serve, dust the toast with powdered sugar and put
syrup and honey on the table.
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Potato Cakes
Leftover potatoes are good for breakfast or supper.
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
Directions:
Combine first four ingredients and spoon onto a hot skillet with bacon drippings. Fry until brown on both sides. Serves 6.
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Country Cabbage Soup
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
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1 lbs. ground beef
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1 small head cabbage, shredded
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1 medium onion, diced
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1/2 gallon water
1 medium green pepper, diced
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1 Tbsp. oregano
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3 celery stalks, diced
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2 tsp. salt
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1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
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1 tsp. black pepper
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Directions:
Combine first 4 ingredients and cook until vegetables are done. Drain well. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serves 8.
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Tom John's Cataloochee Ranchili
This recipe was recently prepared by brother-in-law Tom John Aumen for the President's Day Chili Challenge, held in Maggie Valley every February.
He came off with First Place in the Best-in-Restaurant Division and also Best Overall. He did add the ramps, so maybe that's what got him the honors.
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
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2 lb5. ground round or chuck
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2 cloves garlic, minced
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1 large onion, chopped
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3 Tbsp. chili powder
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1 green bell pepper, diced
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2 tsp. cumin
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2 16-oz. cans kidney or pinto beans
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1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
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2 16-oz. cans diced tomatoes
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2 Tbsp. sugar
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2 16-oz. cans tomato sauce
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salt and pepper to taste
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1 4-oz. can chopped green cbilies
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1/2 cup ramps, chopped with greens (if you have them)
Directions:
Brown ground beef with the onion and green peppers in large iron skillet. Drain fat if necessary. Add garlic, canned ingredients (do not drain) and the other seasonings. Simmer at least one hour without covering, adding liquid if you prefer. Better the next day and just fine for freezing. Serves 8.
.
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Oven-Fried Chicken
Not as good as traditional fried chicken, but very tasty and much better for you.
Directions:
Dredge 1 cut-up fryer in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place the chicken on it. Then spray the chicken. Bake at 350¼ F until golden brown - about 1 hour. No need to turn. Serves 4 or 5.
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Miss Judy's Onion Casserole
This recipe has been used at the ranch for as long as I can remember, so I suppose that Miss Judy originated it. I also have never seen it in any other cookbook. It is so simple, so good and is probably the most requested of all recipes, except possibly the Candy Roaster Puff.
Bake: 30 minutes Serves: 4-5
Ingredients:
Directions:
Chop onions into spoon size pieces and boil in salted water until transparent, about 5 minutes. Drain and place half the onions in a greased 1-quart casserole. Put in a layer of cheese, then the rest of the onions then the rest of the cheese. Pour in the milk until it barely covers the onions. Bake in a 325¡F oven until bubbly and the cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Serves 4 or 5.
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Candy Roaster Puff
A candy roaster is a member of the pumpkin family, but has a much more delicate flavor and does not have the stringy texture. It is indigenous to these mountains and comes in all colors, shapes and sizes from ugly warty green to a gorgeous orange hue, from quite small to huge. In this area, the County Fair has competitions for the largest candy roaster and last year one weighing 450 pounds walked off with the blue ribbon. The owners treat them like babies to achieve their goal, placing the young squash on a clean bed of h ay and religiously picking off any competing siblings so that their prize will get all the nourishment from the parent plant. They water at precise times in precise amounts and appoint guards at night to watch for vandals.
Cut into chunks, it freezes very well without blanching. If you can't get a candy roaster, you may use sweet potato or butternut squash. If you have taken a candy roaster home with you from the mountains, here is a hint on peeling it. It has a very tough outer skin and is very hard to cut and peel, so saw it in half, scoop out the seeds and place it in a 325¼ F oven for about 30 minutes. Then you can scoop out the pulp and freeze it as is or make the following puff.
Serves: 5-6
Ingredients:
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2 cups cooked candy roaster, mashed with a little butter. (If you are using raw chunks, place them in a small amount of water and simmer about 15 minutes or until very tender and mushy.)
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1 1/2 cups cooked candy roaster, mashed with a little butter
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1/3 cup sugar
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pinch of salt
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1 1/2 cups milk
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1/2 teaspoon vanilla
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sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and turn into a buttered 1 quart casserole. Bake at 325¼ F until set, approximately 45 minutes. Serves 5 or 6.
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Spoon Bread
This was a traditional dish in Virginia where Mother was born. My grandmother served spoon bread at breakfast, lunch or dinner. She arose early every morning to make spoon bread or biscuits for breakfast, serving them with country ham and red-eye gravy or with country gravy or turkey hash. My, were we spoiled!
Bake: 45 minutes Serves: 5
Ingredients:
Directions:
Stir the meal and the butter into the salted water and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and set aside. Beat the egg and milk together and combine all the ingredients, mixing well. Pour into a greased quart casserole and bake at 325¼ for 45 minutes. Serve hot with plenty of butter. Serves 5.
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Lazy Man's Bread
Just what it says - good bread for those who don'tt like to knead and roll out biscuits and clean up the mess
Bake: 15 minutes Serves: 6
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450¼ F. Put 2 Tbsp. shortening into a 10-inch iron skillet and place in the heating oven. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients, mix and pour into the hot skillet. Bake until crusty brown, about 15 minutes. Serves 6.
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Chocolate Upside-Down Cake
Bake: 35 minutes Serves: 20
Ingredients:
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4 cups plain flour
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8 Tbsp. Cocoa
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8 tsp. baking powder
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2 cups milk
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1 tsp. salt
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8 Tbsp. shortening
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3 cups sugar
Topping:
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2 cups brown sugar
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7 cups hot water
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8 Tbsp. cocoa
Directions:
Mix the first 5 ingredients then add the milk and shortening. Spread mixture into two 9 x 13 inch pans. Mix the brown sugar and cocoa and sprinkle over the two pans. Pour 3 1/2 cups very hot water over each pan. Bake at 350¡F for 35 minutes. Check for doneness by dipping a spoon in the middle of one of the pans. If the syrup on the bottom comes out as dark as chocolate syrup, it is done. Use a large spoon and turn the cake upside down so the syrup is on top. Serve with whipped cream if desired. Serves about 20.
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Zebra Cake
This is a universal favorite for children and adults alike! Until recently you could only buy chocolate wafers once a year when Nabisco made them, but the wafers are now available year round at most supermarkets.
Ingredients:
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1 package Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers
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2 pints whipping cream, whipped very stiff with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Put a generous amount of whipped cream on the first cookie, place the second on top of it and add more cream. When you have 7 or 8 cookies stacked, lay them down on an oblong or rectangular dish like a log. Continue adding wafers and cream to the log. When you have used all the wafers, spread a generous amount of whipped ream over the entire log to completely cover it end to end and top to bottom. Refrigerate for 2 or 3 hours then slice on a 45 degree angle to give the desired zebra effect.
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Cataloochee Ranch, Maggie Valley, N.C.
828/926-1401, 1-800-868-1401
www.cataloochee-ranch.com
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