Culinary Corner: Great recipes - like great food - should be shared

Ihad the pleasure of attending the wedding of my former student Joseph Perez last week, having watched him grow since second grade in 1985. His mom, Vicki, was my classroom aide, but she and her whole family have became our close friends over the years. In honor of Joseph’s marriage to Rebecca, I think I’ll share with you “Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”:

Old German Pancakes

4 large eggs at room temp

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup whole milk 1 tblsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Beat eggs until pale yellow; add the other ingredients, beating well. Butter and flour a 10-inch pie pan. Bake in a preheated, 400-degree oven for 20 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking 10 minutes until puffy and golden. Remove from oven and plan to serve immediately, sprinkled with powdered sugar and doused with your favorite syrup.

When we kitchen-tested it, we instead doused it with 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice and then sprinkled it with powdered sugar. The remaining wedge was reheated the next morning in the microwave for 30 seconds and topped with a wee bit of homemade pineapple preserves. Vicki is still chuckling about being Mexican and contributing a German recipe.

New Brazilian Country Wild-Rice

(adapted from recipe on the Lundberg Country wild rice pkg.)

1 cup wild rice mix

2 cups chicken broth or water 1-1/2 tblsp. butter

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. fresh orange zest

1/4 cup sliced black olives

1/3 cup chopped Brazil nuts

Combine rice, broth and 1/2 tblsp. butter in a large saucepan and bring to a boil; cover and turn down to simmer about 50 minutes. Remove from heat and let set 10 minutes. Combine remaining butter with chili, garlic, sugar, salt and orange rind; stir in and mix well. Turn into serving dish and fold in the olives and nuts; serve hot.

I enjoyed this at a Cambria Historical Society barbecue, and had to hunt down the creator of this great dish who, like Cinderella, had “left the ball” early. I finally found that the shoe fit Carol Blasingame, who also suggested we might like it with golden raisins stirred in. The ingredients and flavor are certainly unique!

I borrowed some ideas from Sue Robinson and Joyce Renshaw at the same picnic. Sue put together an intriguing combination

which also gained raves — chilled chunks of watermelon, cucumber, red onion, goat cheese and cashews, seasoned with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.

Joyce made a casserole of Trader Joe’s Cuban seasoned black beans mixed with a drained can of plain black ones topped with mozzarella cheese, covered and heated at 350 degrees until bubbly. Sometimes she tops it with TJ’s marinated salmon instead. Yum!

You are going to be able to borrow some more great recipes from the Great Kitchens of Cambria during the 10th anniversary tour this Saturday, July 31. By popular request, the Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch have put together a recipe book designed to add more pages over the years, and you can pick one up at the Schwalbe house for just $20 to benefit the Ranch, or call the office at 927-2856.

Please stay tuned until next month for Something Blue and other treats I’ve gathered from creative Cambrians. Please submit your recipes to Consuelo, c/o The Cambrian, 2442 Main St., Cambria CA; or e-mail to Cambrian@thetribunenews.com.