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Margie’s Favorite Recipes

Thai Pork Chops

Marinade:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup garlic, chopped
  • 3 T Thai Thai Sweet Black Bean Sauce (or equivalent)
  • 2 T Tamari soy sauce
  • 1 T powdered garlic

Marinade pork chops 6 hrs – overnight.

Grill pork chops or slow cook in the oven at 275F, 2 hours. Note, if cooking in the oven, line the baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easier cleaning) and do not add additional marinade on the pork chops, as the sugar (honey) will burn.

Serve with sauce:

Mix together:

  • 6 T Tamari soy sauce (or fish sauce)
  • 5 T scallions, chopped
  • 3 T lemon or lime juice
  • 1 1/2 T serrano pepper, chopped
  • 2 t roasted chili paste or hot chili sauce
  • 1/2 t garlic, chopped

Source: Carol MacNaughton

Fletchi s’apostoy (Pasta checks with cabbage)

This recipe is from Margie’s former mother-in-law, Anna Klymuk, also known as “Baba” (grandma in Ukrainian) to her kids.

  • 1 head cabbage
  • 1 onion diced
  • 3 pc bacon, fried and broken into pieces
  • splash vinegar; make pasta checks
  • put 2/3 cup flour in food processor (“that’s how much flour an egg can take”), 1 egg, 1T water, 1 tsp oil; pulse till forms a ball
  • roll out till thin like paper
  • Cut into checks (squares)
  • Boil till pasta comes to the top (won’t take long)
  • Drain and rinse
  • Put shredded cabbage with a little oil in a very hot pan
  • Stir constantly until it is very brown
  • Add onion pieces and bacon and cook just till the onion is soft
  • Add splash of vinegar and pasta checks
  • Pepper, stir and serve.

Mutterchen’s Duck

Mutterchen is Margie’s affectionate nickname for her mother-in-law, meaning Mom in German.

  • Thaw a duck, remove giblets and neck, discard
  • Rinse the duck thoroughly, cutting away and discarding any fat
  • Score skin of duck with a sharp knife
  • Rub skin with soy sauce
  • Place duck on a broiling rack to which 1 C of water has been added to the pan
  • Bake at 425F until sizzles, then lower heat to 375F
  • Cook 2.5-3 hrs, pouring fat out of cavity of duck halfway through baking (be careful!)
  • Serve immediately with potatoes (boil sliced potatoes 10 minute, drain, then brown in 2 T of duck fat)

Breast of Chicken Cockaigne

Margie noted that this was her favorite recipe in ~1996 when she wrote up this recipe and shared it with her daughter.

  • Nicely flatten and cut chicken breasts into strips
  • Crosshatch with a sharp knife
  • Salt and pepper, then dredge with flour
  • Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter and 1 Tablespoon of oil in large skillet
  • Add chicken, shaking pan so that flour crusts but chicken dos not brown
  • Turn pieces
  • Cover and poach for 10 minutes on very low heat, turning pieces once
  • Remove pan from heat and allow to stand, covered, undisturbed for 10 minutes. This unorthodox method makes breasts puff up and keeps the meat both tender and moist.
  • Remove chicken and keep warm
  • Add 2 Tablespoons flour to the drippings
  • Stir 1 minute
  • Add 1 C liquid (Margie used 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup milk – may also use wine, water, cream or beer)
  • Stir until thickened
  • Serve with mashed potatoes

Southern Yeast rolls

  • ½ c. butter (1 stick)
  • ¾ t. salt
  • ¼ c. sugar
  • ½ c. boiling water
  • 1 yeast cake (or you can use dried granulated yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons of dried yeast is equivalent to a yeast cake)
  • ½ c. cold water
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 3 ½ c. flour 
  • Boil water.
  • Cut up butter into small pieces and combine with salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.
  • Pour boiling water over the mixture and stir until the butter melts.
  • Dissolve yeast into ½ c. cold water. 
  • Add to the first mixture. 
  • Add the egg and stir. 
  • Add the flour, stir and turn onto a board.  Knead.  Allow to stand for 30 minutes. 
  • Roll out and form into the desired shape. (I roll these with a rolling pin on a floured cutting board, and then cut them out with a glass (like a wine glass), then I fold them in half and place them really close together on a greased cookie sheet – see picture).  
  • Rise for 4 hours or so until it rises (in a warm moist room this will happen quicker). 
  • You can also brush them with melted butter before baking them (I didn’t do that this time.) 
  • Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes.

Spinach Quiche

  • 4 pieces of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 1 package chopped spinach, thawed
  • 1/2 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup light cream
  • 1 frozen deep dish pastry shell, thawed
  • 6 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
  • Saute bacon, remove and drain on a paper towel
  • Saute onion in 1 tablespoon of bacon fat
  • Press liquid from spinach, add to onion
  • Add stuffing
  • Remove from heat
  • Beat eggs and cream
  • Set pie crust on a cookie sheet
  • Add gruyere cheese to crust
  • Spoon spinach mixture evening over cheese
  • Sprinkle bacon on top
  • Add egg-cream mixture
  • Bake 15 minutes at 425F
  • Bake 30 min at 325F
  • Let stand for 10 minutes before serving

Hawaiian Simmered Pork

  • 3/4 cup vinegar
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • Combine ingredients above and mix and pour over a 3.5-4lb boneless pork loin in a kettle
  • Cover and simmer for about 3 hours until pork is tender
  • Turn pork during cooking
  • Remove pork to platter
  • Combine 2 T. each cornstarch and water – mix
  • Add to sauce
  • Cook until thickened
  • Pour over pork
  • Serve with rice

Chicken Pop-Ups

  • Shredded, cooked chicken breast (can use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
  • Cream cheese
  • Onion
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Pillsbury crescent rolls
  • Combine cooked chicken with approximately 1/2 a container of cream cheese, diced onions and salt and pepper
  • Lay out two crescent rolls to form a square
  • Add chicken mixture to the center and combine the four corners
  • Bake according to the instructions on the crescent roll package

Potatoes au gratin

  • 3 large potatoes
  • butter
  • salt
  • cheddar cheese
  • green onions
  • 6 Tablespoons of flour
  • 3 cups of milk
  • Panko
  • 3 large potatoes, cooked, peeled and sliced into circles no thicker than 1/4”. 
  • Arrange potatoes overlapping, about three layers in a large casserole with bits of butter, salt, and cheddar cheese here and there. (Margie omitted the salt and butter.) 
  • Make cream sauce: melt 6 T. butter and add 4oz or so chopped green onions and cook till limp.
  • Add 6 T. Flour and whisk until it smells nutty but not burned, about 2”.
  • Add 3 cups of warm milk slowly, constantly whisking until incorporated.
  • Pour over potatoes.
  • Top with grated cheddar cheese and panko (optional). 
  • Bake in preheated 375F oven for 45 minutes-1 hour until or bubbly. 
  • Margie usually turned on the broiler for a minute or two at the end for an extra crispy top.  Watch closely.

Auntie Mary’s Chocolate Bars

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

  • 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 2/3 cup (4 oz) semi-sweet chocolate pieces
  • At medium speed, cream butter, cream cheese, and sugars until light and fluffy.
  • Add egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed.
  • Stir in dry ingredients.
  • Divide dough into quarters and wrap in waxed paper; refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  • Make the filling: in a medium saucepan combine condensed milk and chocolate and cook over medium heat until the chocolate is melted.
  • Remove from heat; stir in walnuts.
  • Cool to room temperature.
  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Grease 2 cookie sheets.
  • On a well-floured surface, roll each ball of dough into 10 x 6″ rectangle.
  • Spread 1/4 of the filling lengthwise down the center of each.
  • Fold in thirds over filling.
  • With a spatula, transfer rolls to cookie sheets, seam side down.
  • Bake 20 minutes or until light brown.
  • Remove to wire racks to cool.
  • Sprinkle each roll with powdered sugar and cute into 12 slices.

Hepburn Brownies

  • Melt 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate and 1/2 stick of butter in a saucepan
  • Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of sugar
  • Add 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and beat like mad
  • Stir in 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • Mix and dump in a 8 x 8-inch square tin that is well-buttered
  • Bake 325F for 40 minutes
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar

Grandpa MacNaughton’s Fudge

  • 4 cups of sugar
  • 4 squares (4 oz) unsweetened chocolate squares
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • Combine above ingredients in a large pot that will fit into the sink
  • Stir constantly until combined over high heat
  • Cook without stirring to 234F (112C)
  • Remove from heat
  • Add (but don’t blend):
    • 4 T butter
    • 2 t vanilla
  • Carefully put into sink that contains 1 inch of cold water
  • Allow to cool to 110F (43C) without any agitation (walk quietly)
  • Beat at high speed until loses its shiny appearance (knowing this point is what makes good fudge)
  • Pour into greased pan