Diane Roupe - The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook

The recipes in this book contain references to numerous trademarked products. This book has not been authorized, endorsed, or licensed by the owners of those products.

1998, 2007 by Diane Roupe

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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ISBN 978-1-4016-0520-6

ISBN 978-1-4185-6821-4 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roupe, Diane.

The blue ribbon country cookbook: the new standard of American cooking / by Diane Roupe; illustrations by Sharon K. Soder; photographs by Mike Dieter

Includes index.

1. Cooker, AmericanMidwestern style. 2. CookeryMiddle West. I. Title. TX715.2.M53R68 1998

641.5977dc21

97-43569

ISBN 978-1-4016-0360-1

07 08 09 10 115 4 3 2 1

DEDICATED, WITH LOVE AND GRATITUDE, TO
MARGARET AND DUWARD STAPLES, MY PARENTS
DEE AND GARY STAPLES, MY SISTER-IN-LAW AND BROTHER
HELEN LAWRENCE TRAMP, MY GRANDMOTHER
SIEGFRIED HOERNER, MY COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND
ROSE LORENZ SCHWARTZ, MY TEACHER

Contents

Recipes Tagged with Winning Ribbons

RECIPES FOR MY WINNING ENTRIES AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR ARE TAGGED AS FOLLOWS:

	RECIPE FOR A BLUE RIBBON WINNER (FIRST PLACE) AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR.
	RECIPE FOR A RED RIBBON WINNER (SECOND PLACE) AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR.

IN ADDITION, TWO RECIPES FOR OTHER PEOPLES WINNING ENTRIES ARE INCLUDED AND TAGGED. THOSE RECIPES ARE:

Pat Berrys JULEKAKE (NORWEGIAN CHRISTMAS BREAD) ().

Joy McFarlands MILE-HIGH TORTE (.

A merica is a unique political and social amalgamation of people and cultures from around the world. Our food is a rich reflection of this diversity interwoven with the copious bounty of our magnificent, fruitful land. American food rightfully can be counted as one of the grand cuisines of the world.

The first edition of The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook presented Midwest foodderiving from the twelve-state stretch of our nations land that harbors some of the most fertile, productive soil on the planetas uniquely supreme and the genesis of a blue ribbon, American cooking style. The recipes contained in this new edition of the cookbook remain predominantly of the Midwest American persuasiona distillation of this nations bountiful land and opulent ethnicity, and at the heart of the American food and cooking style.

The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook was written to be much used in everyday cookery. It is a practical book containing recipes for foods that Americans love to eateverything from boiling potatoes to preparing standing rib roast and baking pineapple upside-down cake. I call it the real world.

The recipes call for familiar ingredients, and the procedures are written clearly and in detail. Featured are more than 100 explicitly written techniques, ranging from how to make flaky piecrust to the basics of yeast-bread baking to directions for making dried and fresh bread crumbs. One can learn to cook from The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook, and experienced cooks will welcome the easy-to-follow, dependable recipes for a broad range of traditional and contemporary American foods.

It is hoped that you find The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook to be one of your kitchen standbys on which you rely for wonderful American food recipes.

Happy blue ribbon cooking!

Notes About Recipe Ingredients

HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCTS. Prepared foods are only as good as the products that go into them. The whole equals the sum of its parts. Select fresh, high-quality foods to bring into your kitchen. Neither the combining of inferior products with other foods nor the cooking process will disguise poor-quality products.

EGGS. Recipes are based on the use of extra-large eggs unless otherwise specified. For best results with the recipes herein, extra-large eggs should be used unless otherwise specified; however, if extra-large eggs are not available, large eggs may be substituted in most recipes. A few recipes, in which the volume of eggs is critical, specify the number of large eggs that may be used in substitution for extra-large eggs.

BUTTER. Use lightly salted butter unless otherwise specified.

SUBSTITUTION OF MARGARINE FOR BUTTER. Margarine may be substituted for butter in most recipes; however, in my opinion, the flavor of the end product will be adversely affected in most cases. For example, cakes and cookies made with butter have a deep, rich taste, which is missing when margarine is substituted in the same recipes.

MILK. In general, when whole milk is specified in a recipe, fat-free (skim) milk or lowfat (1% or 2%) milk should not be substituted. While fat-free (skim) milk is a good-tasting, nonfat, healthful product for drinking, the use of whole milk in baked goods and for most cooking results in finer end products. Try to select ways other than eliminating whole milk from cooking to reduce fat in the family diet.

PURE VANILLA EXTRACT. Use of pure vanilla extract is specified in the recipes. Imitation vanilla results in inferior flavor.

BAKING POWDER. Remember to watch the expiration date on the container and discard after that date.

WINE AND ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR. Use good wine and alcoholic liquor for cooking. Poor-quality wine and spirits produce second-class flavor in finished dishes.

GROUND BEEF. Lean ground beef is called for in these recipes. The ground beef should be 97% lean, pure ground beef containing no fillers, such as carrageenin or oat bran, and no additives, such as salt or hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

MUSHROOMS. Unless otherwise designated, mushrooms specified as an ingredient refers to the common, cultivated white mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) generally available in most supermarkets. Cultivated white mushrooms are sometimes called button mushrooms, generally referring to small white mushrooms.

HAZELNUTS. Hazelnuts are also known as filberts.

COMMERCIAL CAN SIZES. The sizes of commercial cans of food often change (generally becoming smaller). In many cases, using a can of food which varies slightly in size from that specified in a recipe will not affect the outcome of the prepared food. The cook will have to make this determination. If there is a significant variation in can size from the recipe specification, it may necessitate using a portion of food from a second can or reducing the amount of food used from a single, larger can.

FLOUR STORAGE. For convenient use, all-purpose flour may be stored in an airtight canister placed in a dry, cool place on the kitchen counter. Surplus all-purpose flour may be stored in a dry place at cool, room temperature. For storage, place the paper package of remaining flour in a zipper-seal plastic bag. Flour stored at room temperature should be used within 6 months.