Category Archives: sandwiches

French Crepes/any kind you like!

Posted in Family Stories, French Desserts, sandwiches, U.S. South, Uncategorized by

On a recent trip to New Orleans my niece, Ashley Tomlinson, introduced me to these cute little crepe carts. Not only can you watch the crepes being made, but you can choose from a large variety of fruits and sauces, even grand marnier and other liqueurs. Ashley’s favorite is filled with just butter and sugar. I added cinnamon to mine.

Years ago my sister bought me a small crepe maker but it does just as well, and the crepes are actually easier to eat by putting them on a plate and using a fork. Adding a little more batter makes the crepe thicker and leaving it on the griddle longer will make it crispier.

I also saw people ordering them as sandwiches using cheese topped with bacon and tomato. Turkey with Munster or Swiss plus a little mayonnaise or spicy mustard also looked good. And of course the all time favorite of pepperoni and mozzarella cheese with a little pizza sauce is always a winner. I like to add a little hot pepper flakes to mine.🌶

Here is a basic recipe for crepes. Mix together 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups milk, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon cooking oil or melted butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Now is when it gets fun! For dessert crepes you leave out the salt and add 2 tablespoons sugar. Get more creative by adding  vanilla or other flavorings. You can add rum or brandy and liqueurs. Even orange and lemon zest is good. It depends on your filling, so let your artistic side start working! For those of you who want to make it even simpler, try using thin pancake batter. Crepes also come pre-made in some grocery stores, too.

In the picture, I’m eating two crepes.  One has fruit, strawberries and bananas, with whipped cream. The other is Ashley’s favorite made with lots of butter while it’s still on the griddle, sprinkled with sugar, folded  and served.

Summer Sandwiches/Pineapple, English Cheese and Fried Green Tomato

Posted in Cheese, Family Stories, Lunch, sandwiches, U.S. South, vegetables by

Last summer when I went to my son-in-laws’ family reunion,  I was never so surprised to see pineapple sandwiches. The white bread is cut to match the pineapple rings, and of course, since it’s the South, you spread mayonnaise or salad dressing on the bread. Don’t knock it till you try it because I was delightfully surprised.

Then on a trip to England several years ago my husband and I found in all the travel stops what we thought was pimento cheese. But it was without the pimento, just shredded cheese and mayonnaise mixed, then topped with thinly sliced tomatoes and sometimes a little lettuce. I was keeping foster children at the time and when I made it for them, they loved it. A lot of kids don’t like pimento so this is perfect. I called it an English cheese sandwich.

Now this next sandwich is perfect if you have ADHD like I do. When the tomatoes start growing  and you don’t want to wait any longer for them to turn red, just pull them, slice them thin and lightly roll them in flour with a little salt. Fry and drain. Use a good bread so it won’t fall apart while you’re eating it. Add bacon and lettuce. A fried green tomato sandwich! I love this one too.

 

Cabin Fever/Barbecue Turkey Sandwiches

Posted in Holiday, sandwiches by

IMG_3730Sevierville, Tennessee is located in the Smoky Mountains near Knoxville, Tennessee. When I lived in Maryville and Knoxville in the seventies it was a small town with only a few local owned restaurants and many adventurious  hiking trails. The rambling rivers had big rocks you could sit on and have a picnic while watching the river pass you by. And camping was available from primitive to places for big campers to hook up. This is where Dolly Parton grew up and she has never forgotten her roots. Because of her influence and money there is something for everyone now. There are shops of all kinds, knife, pottery, candy, nuts, wine, clothing, just to mention a few. And go carts, miniture golf, helicopter rides, simulated skydiving, horseback riding, oh the list goes on. Restaurants for any craving you might have. If you look hard enough you can still find some of those local owned restaurants with woodburning fireplaces serving mountain country food. Dolly’s Dollywood has more than just rides too. Her whole family is involved in the music performances so you can imagine how good they sound. Since the cabin is just four and a half hours from Charleston, West Virginia, where we spent a wonderful family Thanksgiving, we drove to the cabin to spend the night on the way home. David Yaussy, our beloved brother in law, who is willing to put anything in his outside deep fryer, fried the turkey, fish, potatoes and twinkies!!  All turned out delicious!  The next morning the smell coming from the kitchen was barbecue. David had decided to turn some of the leftover turkey  into barbecue for sandwiches. The recipe for this is a family affair.  First David fries the turkey. Then Dick Yaussy, David’s dad, is given the chore of getting off all the turkey pieces from the turkey bones and he does such a terrific job no one else is ever even asked. (Thank goodness) Then you put pieces pulled apart into the crock pot. Another family member, Sherri Yaussy, has given us her family’s barbecue sauce and we pour that all over the meat and heat it for awhile. Of course you can use any barbecue sauce you like. We take turns stirring it occasionally.

This was a tasty supper for us as we ate by the fire enjoying our little getaway in the mountains.image imageimage

The thrill of Pumpkin Show goes on the whole month of October/Pumpkin pork sandwiches and pumpkin soup 

Posted in Circleville, Family Stories, Lunch, sandwiches, Soups by

 Mother, Anna Lee Brevard, had lived in Circleville, Ohio since about 1950 and had seen the Pumpkin Show parades every year. She had helped many times with preparations like when the Girl Scouts and Brownie troops walked in the parades and she helped her children get ready. When I was Miss Circleville in 1966 she was instrumental in finding me a car from the Moats car dealership to ride on the front of during the parade.  She also helped any student who asked and many times put in hours when her church had a float in the parade. So it only seemed fitting when she was 80 and had never been in the parade herself to let her have this thrill. Mom was so willing to carry our dog, Chief Jack, in the pet parade. She said she couldn’t walk that far so we used a wheel chair from Hands For The Disabled, bless their hearts! And since some of Mom’s heritage is Indian it all seemed appropriate. We all dressed up as an Indian tribe and took turns pushing her. She waved to every student as she saw them and was extremely proud to be a part of the Circleville Pumpkin Show. She came in second place as I remember, to boot!

Here are a couple of her favorite Pumpkin Show recipes.

   This pumpkin soup is like a bisque. It’s so smooth and creamy and the delicate taste of pumpkin is perfect. Top with sour cream and add a touch of sherry if you dare. This recipe came from the page 51 from the Pumpkin Show cook book printed in 1975.

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Found a new recipe for Thanksgiving/Pumpkin Nut Casserole

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Circleville, Lunch, sandwiches by

 

This is so good you need to put it with your Thanksgiving recipes. I was just making it because I’m going through these cook books to find 31 different ones to make and what a treat! It’s delicious and simple. What more do you need at holidays when you’re fixing so many things. And it would freeze well, if you can keep it from your family long enough. It’s better than the picture and you could do this instead of the sweet potato casserole. The glaze is the best part and could be used on other recipes as well. These next two recipes have dates, which I love, but you could use raisins or both, if you’d prefer. Again they freeze well.

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I think the typed recipes straight from the book are so adorable too! 

 

  MY VERY FIRST FOSTER SON / AND VEGETARIAN BURGERS

Posted in Other Stories, sandwiches, vegetables by

 After I had lost my job and had moved to a big house on the ridge, I needed more to do. My son was in high school and my daughter in nursing school and as I looked around at all the extra room we had, I thought why not share it! I had met a woman who was a foster parent and she gave me a phone number. One call lead to another and another and soon it got out in the fostering community that I was interested in being a foster parent and the phone calls started coming in to me. I had no idea there were so many agencies and even more sadly so many children needing a home.

This was nothing for me to just say “yes” and move anyone in. My upbringing was so different from my husbands. I knew never to go to the kitchen in the mornings without my bathrobe. You never knew who might have come for a visit in the night for a day or two or even a month! Both my parents were from different states and had gone to college in even other states and they kept up with all their families and friends so everyone knew they had an open invitation to visit any time. And people did. It was fun for me and my three other siblings. We got to know our aunts and uncles and cousins better that way and would not have otherwise since they all lived in other places. My husband on the other hand grew up in a loving home with just one brother and his parents. Their lives were more organized and quiet. Nothing is wrong with either upbringing. But for my husband to move in strangers was a much harder decision.

The day finally arrived and the knock came to our door. We thought a young girl would be nice since our children were older. Someone young enough we could all spoil and who would think we were so special to have taken them in. When we opened the door there stood a boy, not a girl and a teenager not the young child we were expecting! The agency man explained that they were in desperate need of a home right now for this child because his earlier foster home had been disrupted. There he stood looking at us with as much disbelief as we were at him. He was made to look even shorter than he was by standing next to the tall social worker. He had chains hanging from his sagging worn out jeans and he walked like they were going to fall down at any minute. There in his hand he held a big black garbage bag holding the only possessions he owned. He wasn’t expected but how could we say no.

His name is Anthony. He came from an abruised home and now had to live with strangers. As the days turned into weeks and then months, he taught us as much as we taught  him. He was kind and missed his siblings, a brother and younger twin sisters. I learned quickly that I needed to pick my battles as we’re taught in the foster care  classes. Keeping your bed made and room picked up meant nothing to a child that had lost everything they knew and the people who should have loved and cared for him didn’t do their job and now he had to live this way.  So we talked a lot and compromised on many things. When your bed is made the whole room looks better I’d tell him as my mother had told me, so we just settled for that. And even though I preferred him wearing his pants up around his waist, I bought him new jeans and a belt and let him keep the chains and sagging style. At least the belt would help his pants stay up and if wearing them this way made him feel he had some control of his life, it was something I could live with.

The foster parents he had lived with before coming to us were vegetarians. We were not. He was able to get us recipes to try. So this is where these burger recipes came from. Eventually we enjoyed them too and with time  he started enjoying our beef burgers as well.

There was a single man who lived in a tiny house next door to us. He was very particular about his big yard, but with a house that small  I can see why he stayed outside so much. One day he got on to me because the wind had blown some branches and leaves from our tree into his yard and he was very unhappy about that. He wanted me to cut it down. Well, he was very rude and made me cry. As I sat on the side porch I heard a loud knocking on his front door. I looked over and there stood Anthony. When the man opened his door I heard Anthony say to him “Don’t you ever make my mom cry again!  She is the nicest person I know and does so much for others and doesn’t deserve to be talked to that way. ” Well, I must admit that at this time I was glad he was wearing those chains and looked like a thug! He really wasn’t that way on the inside. And I knew I had made some difference in his life and now I knew he also had made a difference in mine.

Anthony is grown now and he is not passing on bad parenting. He and his wife are lovingly raising their little son with all the joys parents should feel.