Hot German Potato Salad

6 lb. potatoes
12 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled and the drippings saved
1 med. onion, chopped
1/4 C. flour
1/4 C. sugar
3-4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 C. water
dash of pepper
2/3 C. vinegar

Peel potatoes and boil, whole, for 30-35 minutes.  Drain and let cool, slice and set aside.  In a deep pan, cook onion in the bacon drippings until tender.  Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Cook over a low heat, stirring, until bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in water and vinegar.  Return to stove and heat until boiling, stirring constantly; allow to boil 1minute.  Carefully stir bacon and sliced potatoes into onion sauce until potatoes are well coated.  Serves 10-12.

Italian Cookies

6 C. flour
6 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 sticks margarine
2 C. sugar
6 large eggs

Filling:
Apricot preserves
sliced almonds
raisins

Mix together flour and baking powder in a large bowl.  Blend in the margarine, sugar, and eggs by hand.  Cut the dough into 4 equal portions.  Doing one portion at a time, roll out the dough about 1/4" thick. 

To make sandwiches:
Cut equal numbers of round cookies out of the dough.  Spread a thin layer of apricot jam on the bottom half, leaving a 1/2" margin around the edges.  Sprinkle with the almonds and raisins.  Put the top half on.

To make biscotti:
Spread jam over intact rolled-out dough.  Sprinkle with almonds and raisins.  Roll up into a log shape.

Either way:
Moisten top of sandwiches or log with milk.  Sprinkle with seasonally appropriate confettis or colored sugars.  Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350F until light brown.  (About 10 minutes for sandwiches, about 20 for the log.)  For the biscotti, let the log cool before slicing into cookies.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Chiacchiere Della Nonna

2-1/4 C. flour
1/2 C. vegetable oil
2 TB. sugar
2 eggs
3 TB. dry white wine
1/2 tsp. salt
10X confectioner's sugar for dusting
Oil for frying

Combine flour, oil, sugar, eggs, wine, and salt in a large bowl.  Knead until it becomes a smooth and tender dough.  Cover dough and let rest for 20 minutes.  Knead dough for another 1-2 minutes, then roll it out to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut dough into stripes 1/2 inch wide by 5 inches long.  Tie stripes into a bow shape.  Put a few bows at a time into about 1 inch of hot oil, fry 'til golden brown, then transfer to paper towels to drain.  Sprinkle them generously with the 10X sugar.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Fried Doughnuts

Mix together:
5 C. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 TB. salt
1 C. sugar
1 TB. nutmeg

Add in:
4 TB. butter

Make a well in the flour-butter mixture and add in:
1 C. milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well.  Turn out onto a floured work surface and roll to about 1/2 inch thick.  Shape into stripes about 3 inches long (and 1 inch wide? recipe doesn't say), fry until light brown.  Drain onto paper towels.  Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Hot Dog, Pork & Beans, and Cabbage Casserole

1/2 pkg. of hot dogs, sliced
1 small cabbage
1 large can of pork and beans
1 medium onion, chopped
Cooking oil

Put whole cabbage in a large pan with water and cook for about 15 minutes.  Take it out and drain it, then let it cool until cool enough to handle.  Chop it into bite-sized pieces and set aside.  In a separate pan, saute the onions in the oil until soft.  Then add in hot dogs and cook a few more minutes.  Then add in cabbage and cover, let cook about 15 minutes or until the cabbage pieces are fully cooked.  Stir in the pork and beans and let cook until heated through.  Serves 4-5.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Glazed Dutch Raisin Bread

Bread                                                                                            
2/3 C. hot water                                                                             
1/2 C. sugar                                                                                   
1/2 tsp. salt                                                                                   
1/2 stick margarine, softened
1/2 C. warm water
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
3/4 C. flour
1 C. raisins
1 egg

Glaze
1 C. confectioner's sugar
1 TB. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix 2/3 C. hot water, sugar, salt, and margerine together; let cool until lukewarm.  Dissolve yeast 1/2 C. warm water.  Combine together two water mixtures, then stir in egg, then flour, then raisins.  Beat all until well-blended, about 2 minutes.  Cover, and let rise in a warm place until more than doubled in size, about 50 minutes.  Punch dough down and beat vigorously by hand about 75 strokes, then turn into a greased 1-1/2 quart casserole pan.  Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until golden on top.  Let cool and turn onto a plate.  Beat glaze ingredients together until smooth and shiny.  Pour glaze over top of bread and let it drip down the sides.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Pickled Mushrooms

2 6oz. cans mushroom crowns, drained
1/3 C. red wine vinegar
1/3 C. oil
1 onion, thinly sliced into rings
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 TB. brown sugar

In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, oil, salt, parsley, mustard, and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Add mushrooms, simmer 5-6 minutes.  Chill in a covered bowl several hours, stirring occasionally, to allow the flavors to soak in.  Drain before serving.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello