Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

When the heat of summer truly sets in, it takes a lot of motivation for me to spend serious time in the kitchen. Desserts and snacks tend to be ice cream or a bowl of sliced fruit or berries.

So I was delighted when several readers wrote in with favorite recipes for quick treats in response to the recipe we printed for a no-fuss snack cake. If you have a favorite in the same vein, whether sweet or savory, please share it with me and other readers!

Q: Your recipe for a quick snack cake made me think about another dessert I call “Goop” that is really good for these hot summer days. It is quick to make, with minimal baking time, and has endless variations: Add seasonal or canned fruit, chocolate or other flavor chips, change the flavor of the pudding. It is a real winner with children and adults. The only drawback is that it must be made the day before and refrigerated.

-Gail Stotts, Hollywood, Fla.

GOOP

1 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine or butter

1 (8-ounce) bar cream cheese

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup frozen, defrosted whipped topping (such as Cool Whip)

2 (4-serving size) boxes instant vanilla pudding mix

3 cups milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, nuts and margarine with a fork or pulse in food processor. Press into a 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake 15 minutes. Cool. Beat cream cheese with sugar, then mix in whipped topping. Spread on top of first layer.

Mix both packages of pudding with the milk. Pour on top of second layer. Top with additional whipped topping as desired. Chill at least 8 hours before cutting into squares. Makes 18 servings.

Per serving: 235 calories (51 percent from fat), 13.5 g fat (5.2 g saturated, 5.4 g monounsaturated), 17.9 mg cholesterol, 3.4 g protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 275.5 mg sodium.

Q: My grandchildren loved the snack cake I made with your recipe – so quick and easy! So I thought I’d pass along another quickie for summer dessert, Microwave Cherry Bread Pudding, that’s a big hit in our family. You can make a zillion combinations using different fruits and extracts, and best of all it doesn’t heat up the kitchen.

-Carol H.

MICROWAVE CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

1 can (about 20 ounces) prepared cherry pie filling

6 slices white bread, cubed

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup milk

3 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 teaspoon cinnamon

Whipped cream, whipped topping or ice cream (optional)

Pour the pie filling into a shallow 1 1/2 quart glass casserole dish. Put the bread cubes on top. Drizzle the butter on top and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Beat the milk, eggs, sugar and extract, then pour on top of the bread, pushing down any cubes that aren’t coated. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Microwave on medium (50 percent) power for 18 to 20 minutes (rotate every 4 minutes if your oven doesn’t have a turntable), until custard is lightly set in center. Remove and let stand 5 minutes before serving with whipped cream or ice cream. (May also be served cold.) Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 263 calories (33 percent from fat), 9.8 g fat (5.1 g saturated, 2.8 g monounsaturated), 97.6 mg cholesterol, 5.3 g protein, 39.5 g carbohydrates, 0.9 g fiber, 248.7 mg sodium.

Q: I once had the best chicken salad recipe, which I know I got off a can of pineapple in the late 1970s. It had one ingredient that was unusual at the time, Major Grey’s chutney. I’d love to have that recipe again, but I have never been able to find it.

-Carolyn M., Huntsville, Ala.

A: I tried technology first, but though there are many delicious-sounding recipes for chicken salad at Dole.com, none fit your description. I found the recipe the old-fashioned way, by thumbing through my collection of vintage recipe brochures.

It’s from “Budget-Stretching Meal Ideas from Dole Pineapple,” which must have been published in the right time frame since it has a coupon that expired in 1980. The recipe here is as it was published. When I made it, I substituted fresh chopped green onion for the instant and used the reserved pineapple juice to cook the rice with which I served the salad.

PINEAPPLE CHICKEN SALAD WITH CHUTNEY

1 (20-ounce) can chunk pineapple in syrup

2 tablespoons instant minced onions

2 cups diced, cooked chicken

1 cup diced cucumber

1/2 cup chopped salted cashews

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons mango chutney

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Crisp lettuce leaves

Drain pineapple well, reserving syrup. Combine minced onion with 3 tablespoons of the reserved syrup and let stand 10 minutes until rehydrated. Meanwhile, combine chicken, cucumbers, cashews and pineapple chunks in a large bowl. Combine mayonnaise, chutney and seasoned salt. Add onions, blending well. Pour over chicken mixture and toss. Arrange lettuce leaves on 6 plates. Spoon chicken mixture on top. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 506 calories (66 percent from fat), 38.2 g fat (5.2 g saturated, 9.3 g monounsaturated), 60.6 mg cholesterol,16.5 g protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 1.4 g fiber, 823 mg sodium.

SLEUTH’S CORNER

Q: I miss the split pea soup and croutons that the Rascal House on Miami Beach served on Mondays. Is there any chance the recipe is still around for both?

-Nick

Q: In the mid 1950s our family moved to Mobile, Ala., and soon began eating at Ossie’s Bar B Que on Highway 90. They had the best-ever baked beans. Does anyone have a recipe?

-Carol Butler

(Linda Cicero: lcicero(AT)MiamiHerald.com)

Q: Do you have a simple muffin or snack cake recipe that will use up that last handful of chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit that we all seem to have?

-Sandy

A: This has been my stand-by recipe for a quick treat since a reader contributed it to the column in 1985. You don’t even have to wash a mixing bowl, and you can make it even if you don’t have butter, eggs or milk.

The variations are nearly endless, including a yellow version, so throw in that last handful of chips, the melted candy bar, etc. This is similar to what is known as Wacky Cake or Ration Cake, but less dense.

Q: I would like to know how to caramelize onions. Whenever I have tried, the onions burn. Do you need to add sugar?

-Esther Litvin

A: A little sugar helps, but the true secret to making caramelized onions is patience. You simply can’t hurry the process, which takes about 45 minutes. I like to make a large batch and freeze extra for later use.

Once you’ve stirred them into a stew to give it richness and sweetness or tossed them on a steak or hamburger, made a gravy with no peer or added pizzazz to a pizza or mundane casserole, you’ll be hooked. Think of the intense flavor of a French onion soup and you get an idea of what caramelized onions can do for your cooking.

You can use plain yellow onions, but when Vidalia or other sweet onions are on sale the subtle difference is worthwhile.

Q: We had chicken kebabs at a Middle Eastern restaurant that were served with a hot but sweet and creamy green sauce. The server said it was made with cilantro and yogurt. Can you give me specific directions?

-Anne

A: Green sauces made with cilantro are common in many cuisines, from Chile to Iraq, the Canary Islands to Mexico. Right now my garden is overflowing with cilantro, so I make this sauce frequently.

Serve it with meats, seafood or vegetables, spoon it over rice or rotisserie chicken or simply use it as a dip for flat bread. If you like a sharper sauce, add a quarter of a medium onion with the garlic.

SLEUTH’S CORNER

Q: On a camping trip, one of the group members brought a tin of silky, smooth dessert to share. I believe they may have frozen it prior to the trip so it would be perfect to eat the first night. It was almost mousse-like in consistency and may have been flourless, as there was no crust. It was cut into small squares like fudge candy. For about 20 years I’ve been searching for this elusive recipe for what I was told was “Death by Chocolate,” only to find there are many recipes by that name. Any clues what this could be?

-Deb S., Asbury, N.J.

CHOCOLATE SNACK CAKE

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. With a fork, mix flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in an ungreased 8-inch square pan. Make a well in center, add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla and stir in completely. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired. Makes 9 servings.

VARIATIONS:

Applesauce: Omit cocoa and vanilla. Stir 1-1/2 teaspoons allspice into flour mixture. Reduce water to 1/2 cup and stir in 1/2 cup applesauce.

Chocolate-cherry almond: Omit water. Stir 1/3 cup chopped unblanched almonds into flour mixture. Drain 1 (4-ounce) jar maraschino cherries, reserving syrup; chop cherries. Add enough water to reserved cherry syrup to measure 1 cup. Stir syrup water and cherries into the flour mixture with the remaining ingredients.

Vanilla chocolate-chip: Omit cocoa. Stir 1/3 cup chopped walnuts into the flour mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips over batter in pan.

Double chocolate: Sprinkle 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips over batter in the pan.

Maple-nut: Omit cocoa and vanilla. Stir 1/2 cup chopped pecans into the flour mixture. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon maple extract with the water.

Per serving: 249 calories (28 percent from fat), 8 g fat (0.8 g saturated, 4.5 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 2.9 g protein, 43 g carbohydrates, 1.4 g fiber, 276.9 mg sodium.

CARAMELIZED ONIONS

2-1/2 to 3 pounds onions (about 6 large)

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

2 teaspoons brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, optional

Peel the onions and slice into thin (1/4 -inch) rings. In a large, heavy skillet or Dutch oven, melt the butter with the oil over medium heat. Increase heat to medium-high, add the onions, and cook, stirring constantly, until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on sugar and pepper and toss well.

Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Add a teaspoon of water, stir, and cook, watching carefully, until onions are a deep mahogany brown, about 15 minutes more. It is at this last stage that the onions are most vulnerable to burning, so watch carefully. If they start to stick, add a teaspoon more water. Makes about 3 cups.

Per \-cup serving: 78 calories (57 percent from fat), 5.2 g fat (2.2 g saturated, 2.4 g monounsaturated), 7.6 mg cholesterol, 0.9 g protein, 7.8 g carbohydrates, 1.3 g fiber, 23.7 mg sodium.

CILANTRO CREAM SAUCE

1 jalapeno pepper

1 bunch cilantro

1 small garlic clove

Juice of 1 lime

1 (8-ounce) container plain yogurt or sour cream

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Split the jalapeno and remove stem and seeds. Coarsely chop the cilantro. Smash the garlic. Place them in a food processor or blender with the lime juice and puree. With the machine running, add the yogurt and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or additional lime juice if needed. Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

Per tablespoon: 8 calories (37 percent from fat), 0.3 g fat (0.2g saturated, 0.1 g monounsaturated), 1.2 mg cholesterol, 0.4 g protein, 0.8 g carbohydrates, 0.1 g fiber, 35.4 mg sodium.