TODAY's CASES:

• Pound Cake and Ice Cream
• Fort Wayne Coney Island Sauce Recipe
• Cheesecake Factory Chicken Marsala

Pound Cake and Ice Cream Subject: Re: Pound Cake and ice cream From: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Date: 4/8/2018 2:22 PM To: Metroregina On 4/8/2018 7:10 AM, Metroregina wrote: Hi Phaedrus,   I am looking for a recipe for homemade ice cream and buttered pound cake.  These are some of the ingredients I remember seeing my grandmother use to make ice cream:  pet milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla flavor, eggs.  She would make this into a custard by cooking it on the stove.  Then she would pour the custard when it was cool enough to handle through gauze.  She would then let it cool and place it in the refrigerator until the next day and she would then make the ice cream.  This was the best ice cream I have ever eaten.  I do not like store bought ice cream. My grandmother use to also make peach ice cream and the taste was just wonderful it would melt in your mouth with every spoon full.  Along with the ice cream was the butter pound cake that's what I call it because she would use 1 pound of butter, 12 eggs which she separated, cake flour and the rest of the ingredients sugar, salt, and baking powder.  We could not get the recipes because my grandmother didn't really measure.  She could tell at a glance how much of each ingredients that she had to use.  She has pass over now and all I am left with are her memories. I hope some of you older cooks out there can help me.  I would love to eat cake and have ice cream again. Sincerely Metroregina Hello Metroregina, I had no success finding recipes that fit your description exactly. There are dozens of recipes for homemade vanilla ice cream.  I did not find any at all that called for evaporated milk and heavy cream AND that were strained through gauze or cheesecloth, although some are strained through, like a tea strainer. I'm not optimistic that you will find your grandmother's exact recipes, but I will post this for reader input. Meanwhile, below are some very similar recipes that you should try.  They might make pound cake and ice cream that is very close to your grandmother's. Note that most pound cake recipes have a bit of lemon or almond flavoring in the recipe. Phaed 12 Egg Pound  Cake 1 lb. butter (not margarine) 3 1/2 c. sugar Pinch salt 4 c. sifted flour 1 tsp. baking powder 12 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. almond extract  Cream butter thoroughly, gradually add sugar, beat until light and fluffy.  Mix baking powder with flour.  Add 3 tablespoons flour mixture to butter and egg mixture; beat well. Add remaining flour and eggs alternately until all have been added.  Add flavorings. Bake in two 10 inch tube pans for 1 hour at 325 degrees.  This recipe is over 150 years old. -------------------------- Old  Fashion  Pound  Cake 1 lb. butter 1 lb. flour 1 tsp. lemon flavor 1 lb. sugar 12 eggs The cake has only these 5 ingredients.  All ingredients should be room temperature. Cream butter and sugar together.  Separate eggs; beat yolks together and the whites together separately. Add egg yolks and lemon flavoring all at once to creamed butter and sugar, mixing all together with the hands.  Add the egg whites alternately with flour, mixing with hands.  Finally, beat about 3 minutes with electric mixer. Pour batter into tube pound cake pan and bake at 325 degree about 1 hour and 15 minutes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream       4 eggs 2 tbsp. flour Dash of salt 2 1/2 c. sugar 2 tsp. vanilla Milk 2 sm. containers whipping cream 2 sm. half & half 1 sm. can Pet (evaporated) milk Ice cream salt Ice Mix together real good flour, salt, and sugar. Beat eggs; gradually add sugar mixture and mix well. Heat quart of milk on low. Do not boil. Add egg and sugar mixture to milk; cook about 5 minutes on low. Do not boil. Take off stove. Add whipping cream, half & half, 1 small can Pet milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and enough milk to make a gallon of ice cream. Can be frozen in electric freezer (approximately 30 minutes) or hand crank freezer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cooked Custard Ice Cream       6 eggs, beaten 1 qt. whole milk 1 2/3 c. evaporated milk 3 c. sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 3 tbsp. vanilla 3 c. whipping cream Combine both kinds of milk, sugar, salt and beaten eggs in a 4 quart pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour into the freezer can and cool. After it is cool, add the vanilla and whipping cream. Freeze according to your freezer's directions. Makes 1 1/4 gallons. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peach Ice Cream       2 c. sugar 1/4 c. cornstarch 1/4 tsp. salt 4 c. milk 4 eggs, beaten 2 tsp. vanilla 4 c. canned Pet evaporated milk 2 c. sweetened peaches Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in top of double boiler. Gradually blend milk in and cook over hot water, stirring constantly, about 12 minutes. Add small amount of hot mixture to the beaten eggs, then stir the eggs into the rest of the mixture. Cook 5 minutes longer; chill custard and add vanilla and peaches. Blend thoroughly. Then freeze in electric freezer. ================================================================================= Thank you Phaedrus. These recipes are as close as I can get them. Thank you again. Fort Wayne Coney Island Sauce Recipe Subject: Re: The "Original" Coney Island Weiner Stand (Fort Wayne, IN) hot dog sauce From: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Date: 4/15/2018 1:44 PM To: Jerry On 4/15/2018 1:09 PM, Jerry wrote: Hi Uncle Phaedrus, The Original Coney Island Weiner Stand in Fort Wayne Indiana has been in business in the same place since 1914.  It serves coney island hot dogs (sauce, onion, yellow mustard) on hot dogs on steamed buns.  As near as I can figure, the same recipe as when it started . . . I’ve been eating there off and on for about 70 years.  The sauce is quite different from most coney dog places in that it is very thin, liquidy, compared to other coney sauces.  It also is a darker brown than other sauces, and seems a little spicier than most others I’ve had.  It is similar in taste to the coney sauce used by Gold Star Cincinnati restaurant, but much thinner and darker.  It was also developed by a family from Macedonia . . . I made the mistake of mentioning that I understood the restaurant was started by Greeks, to one of the sons of one of the original owners.  He let me know they were NOT Greeks, they were Macedonians, not that I would ever be able to tell the difference. Anyway, I’ve looks high and low for a recipe that sounds like it would be the same thin, dark sauce with the strong coney flavor, and no luck.  I thought, perhaps, you might be more gifted in understanding what would make the difference.  Oh yes, these coneys are by far the best in the World, no doubt!  If you ever have one, I’m sure you’ll agree. Thank you, Jerry   Hi Jerry, The thing about these Coney Island places is that their chili recipes are closely guarded secrets. They just don't give them out, and often only one person knows the secret recipe. I do have some ideas for you. You might try this spice mix:  Fort Wayne Coney Island Spice Mix I have never seen a recipe that claimed to be for the chili from The Original Coney Island Wiener Stand in Fort Wayne, Indiana in particular. However, there are recipes around for Fort Wayne style Coney Island chili. See the two below. Phaed Fort Wayne Coney Island Sauce 1 cup Crisco 1 1/2 pounds Hamburger meat 1 large Onion(s), minced 3 cloves Garlic, mashed 3 tablespoons Chili powder 1 tablespoon Oregano 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt 1 teaspoon Pepper 1 teaspoon Paprika 1 teaspoon Allspice 1 teaspoon Celery seed 1/2 teaspoon Cumin 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Melt Crisco, add onions and garlic.  Meanwhile soak meat in cold water When hot, add meat after straining out water. Cook until done. Mix together all spices. Add to meat and simmer for a couple of hours. You may need to add some liquid as it simmers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ft. Wayne Copycat Coney Dog By: Krista from Everyday Mom's Meals Ingredients     For the Chili Sauce:     1/2 cup onion, finely chopped     1 clove of garlic, minced     2 tablespoons butter     1 pound ground beef     2 tablespoons yellow mustard     2 tablespoons cider vinegar     1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce     1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce     1 cup ketchup     2 teaspoons paprika     2 teaspoons chili powder     For the Hot Dogs:     1 package of hot dogs     1 package of hot dog buns     onions, diced to taste     yellow mustard, to taste Instructions Saute the onions and garlic in butter. Add ground beef and break up until fine. Cook until brown and drain fat.      Combine all other ingredients and mix well. Add to beef mixture. Stir well and heat.      Let simmer for at least an hour. If dries out, add a little water, scrape bottom of pan to get pan drippings off and continue simmering.      Serve on hot dogs in buns with mustard and diced onion. ======================================================================================== Subject: RE: The "Original" Coney Island Weiner Stand (Fort Wayne, IN) hot dog sauce From: Jerry Date: 4/15/2018 2:52 PM To: Phaedrus Thank you. I know it would be a miracle to actually stumble over the real recipe, but I was hoping there might have been a “standard” Greek meat sauce recipe from the early 1900s that one would say, “Voila!,” that’s the one.  I’ve tried the spice mix, and that’s not really bad, and I’ve worked on my own recipe for many years . . . but I’m not satisfied with it.  I just sat down after putting together another try with something slightly different, to see if that gets any closer.  The problem with everything I’ve tried is that the actual liquid of the “original” has the flavor, and the meat just seems to be in there as an afterthought.  Very little of the meat is with the hot dog.  And what I make never has that strength of flavor. In the broth.  I’ve also continually wondered whether I (and others) are complicating the recipe too much. Perhaps it’s just one spice we haven’t thought of trying, like berbere, rather than all the stuff we put in.  I can imagine the owners laughing their heads off every time we print a new “tastes just like” recipe. Well, thank you again for the try, and for the quick response. And, Have a great day, Jerry. Hi Jerry, I hate to be a naysayer, but I've researched the history of Coney Island sauce a bit. When I researched the most popular Coney Island hot dog places, I found that almost all of the original places opened their doors between 1900 and 1930. This includes Detroit, Jackson, Kalamazoo, and Flint, Michigan, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and other places in other states. The reason so many of these places opened in such a short time frame is because there was a influx of immigrants from Greece and Macedonia during that period, fleeing war in the Balkans. The Coney Island restaurants that opened during that time and later were either opened by these immigrants or else they can trace their origin back to one of these original places. The problem with looking for a standard Greek meat sauce recipe such as you describe is that there isn't one. These immigrants brought their family recipes for meat sauce from Greece and Macedonia, and each recipe was different in different families. They entered America through Ellis Island in New York City, and they visited Coney Island before they migrated West to the Great Lakes area and elsewhere, such as Minnesota and Texas. That's where they got the name of "Coney Island" for the sandwich. They took the basic hot dog, popular at Coney Island in New York, added their unique meat sauce, and called it a "Coney Island." There is no single precursor recipe that was brought from Greece and that was the basis for all of the recipes that developed later. Even if you had the authentic recipe for the chili sauce from the oldest Coney Island hot dog restaurant in America, it most likely would not be what you are looking for as regards the broth. The recipe for that particular sauce is, I'm sure, a family recipe, and even former employees of Coney Island Wiener Stand would not know how to make it. Only family members or owners of the restaurant. Keep trying. Maybe you'll accidentally hit on the right combination. Phaed Cheesecake Factory Chicken Marsala Subject: Re: Cheesecake Factory Chicken Marsala From: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Date: 4/10/2018 9:42 AM To: Danielle On 4/9/2018 3:54 PM, Danielle wrote: Hi there- I was wondering if you have a recipe for the Cheesecake Factory’s chicken marsala.  I know for a fact that it has veal stock in the sauce.  I was able to get some of the ingredients out of a hostess once. That’s all I know! Thanks! -Danielle Hello Danielle, Sorry, actual Cheesecake Factory recipes are rarer than hen's teeth. They just don't give them out. The sauces, etc. may not even be made in the restaurants, but may be pre-made at a central commissary and shipped to the restaurants. I have never seen a Cheesecake Factory recipe that was posted by a former Cheesecake Factory employee. They might be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Copycat recipes are all that seem to be available. There are a few copycat recipes available on the web for Cheesecake Factory's chicken Marsala. There is a website called "Cheesecake Factory at Home," which has home versions of cheesecake factory recipes.  The chicken Marsala recipe on that site does not have veal stock, it has chicken stock. I did not see any purported copycat recipes for this dish that had veal stock.  They all use chicken stock or beef stock. See: Cheesecake Factory at Home I'll post this for reader input. Phaed