Lemony Crisps, by Pillsbury

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Trumpeter Hill

These cookies are absolutely stand-out, look like they came from a bakery and will pass the test at cocktail parties. And, while most recipes posted here start from scratch, this is THE exception. It comes from the side of a Pillsbury Moist Supreme Lemon Cake Mix box, and is made in easy moments. I do not even frost these cookies!

If made for kids lunches, you’ll need a half-hour in the morning. (But wrap in brown paper, or cool before wrapping in plastic.) When I pack these for my boys, their friends ask if they can be adopted!

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Rose Cake, (Red Velvet Cake), by Carol Zurawski, circa 1958, invented

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Trumpeter Hill

Red Velvet Cake …all the rage now. Writers detail the history; Others debunk the Waldorf Astoria link we believed in. Google “red velvet” and a billion recipes appear. A red impostor cake mix is sold at grocery stores. Ugh.

Well, Mom only made elegant desserts. Inside the Waldorf Astoria's $1 billion makeover - CNN Style

The Waldorf-Astoria, sold this cake in the 1920s. Recipes for it began to circulate in the 1940s.

Mom and dad married in August 1958, and when they entertained, mom occasionally made this towering, eight thin-layer cake for the very best of their celebrations. (The layers in my cake pictured above may be much too thick, they should have been split!)

Her typed, mimeographed recipe is titled “Rose Cake,” then in parenthesis, the fancier, “Red Velvet.” Still, despite the cake’s opulence, my siblings preferred even another name; we called it “Blood Cake” for the deep red color, and for the looks of horror we incited. This recipe is wonderful. But this recipe is not for the faint-hearted Continue reading →

Extra-Dark Chocolate Pound Cake, by Pernigotti Cocoa for Williams Sonoma

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Trumpeter Hill

A little dark chocolate cake for St. Valentine’s Day!

Perignotti is an unsweetened, vanilla-flavored, extra-dark cocoa that is Dutch processed, but made in Italy, exclusively sold by Williams-Sonoma. This recipe was published in a Williams-Sonoma catalogue in the 1990s.

While Perignotti is, of course, preferred, this dark pound cake can also be made using another cocoa, such as Hersey’s Special Dark Cocoa, by adding a little more vanilla.

Extra-Dark Chocolate Pound Cake
1½ c. sifted flour
½ c. sifted dark cocoa
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Simply Sensational Truffles, by Kraft’s Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Trumpeter Hill

Originally saved this truffle candy recipe from the inside of a Philadelphia Cream Cheese box, but it is now readily available at Kraft’s site: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/simply-sensational-truffles-107529.aspx#. But, since recipes like this come and go, it is repeated here, just in time for St. Valentine’s Day.

Simply Sensational Truffles, by Kraft’s Philadelphia Cream Cheese
5 pkg. (4 oz. each) Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
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Pecan & Peanut Butter-Chocolate Bonbons, circa 1983

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Trumpeter Hill

Fancy peanut butter cups, with pecans! A recipe from the early 1980s, and a classic, perfect for St. Valentine’s Day.

Pecan & Peanut Butter-Chocolate Bonbons

2 c. sifted powdered sugar
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
3/4 c. pecans, chopped
½ c. flaked coconut
½ c. peanut butter
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Raspberry Creams, The White House Cookbook, by Ziemann, Gillette

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Trumpeter Hill

Victorian era candy for St. Valentine’s Day. And these come from America! They appear in the first cookbook to reveal how The White House entertained; The White House Cookbook.

Published back in 1887, it is still a stand-out cookbook, as it features Chef Hugo Ziemann. As noted by the cookbook, Ziemann was caterer for Prince Napoleon (the Napoleon who died fighting Zulus in Africa), steward of the famous Hotel Splendide in Paris, “conducted” the celebrated Brunswick Café in New York, and the Hotel Richelieu in Chicago.

Mrs. F.L. Gillette co-authored the cookbook, adapting recipes “to the practical wants of average American homes.” Here is the recipe as printed, except Trumpeterhill separated ingredients, added explanations and suggested substitutions, in italics.

The 1887 White House Cookbook Raspberry Creams
Confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. raspberry jam
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Grey Goose L’Orange Cosmopolitan

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Trumpeter Hill

A lovely way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

This recipe first appeared in a magazine ad for Grey Goose L’Orange. It has been very slightly revised to add a squeeze of a fresh orange alongside the lime juice, and it is garnished with an orange peel instead of a lime peel. That slightly revised cocktail can be found at http://www.greygoose.com/en/us/cocktail-recipes/cosmopolitan

Since we’ve enjoyed the original, and find it apt for a lovers’ holiday, we post it here:

Grey Goose L’Orange Cosmopolitan
3 oz. Grey Goose L’Orange
1/2 oz. Cointreau, or Grand Marnier (sweeter than Cointreau)
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Belgian Cherry Bon-bons

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Trumpeter Hill

Pretty little melted bon-bon cookies with a crimson cherry in the center.

Belgian Cherry Bon-bons
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. confectioners’ sugar (also known as 10x or powdered sugar)
½ tsp. almond extract (may substitute vanilla)
1½ c. walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
2½ c. cake flour, shifted
2 (3½ oz.) containers candied cherries
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New England Poached Salmon with Dill, Caper & Egg Sauce

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Trumpeter Hill

A little wild salmon for post Valentine’s Day brunch. The lightest and, perhaps healthiest, way to gently coax the flavor from the fish.

This dish, is a slight variation (~we just add dill and capers and punch up the flavor of the sauce) of the Salmon with Egg Sauce that was a favorite of President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams, the first family to entertain in the White House. Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks’ 1968 The President’s Cookbook, reveals, Mrs. Adams thought the dish “so memorable she decided the ‘American’ quality of it made it perfect as an Independence Day dinner.” It was served with Green Turtle Soup and Apple Pan Dowdy for dessert.”

So, here is Abigail Adam’s original recipe, with a boost of flavor in italics.

New England Poached Salmon with Dill, Caper & Egg Sauce
4-6 lb. center-cut piece salmon
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