"This spicy concoction is for everyone who adores bold flavors. If you like your food milder, substitute diced green chilies for the jalapenos. Slather the hot mixture on crackers, thinly sliced French or rye bread or on vegetables. It's particularly delicious on sliced cucumbers or cooked new potatoes." This advice and the recipe was submitted by Adrienne Barrett of Mentone in answer to a request made by Vicky Kuduruda of Moreno Valley.
Fiery Artichoke Spread or Dip
1 can (13 ¾-ounce) hearts of small artichokes
1 can (4-ounce) diced jalapenos or hot chilies
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Preheat broiler. Drain artichoke hearts and chop coarsely. Drain hot peppers. In a medium bowl, combine the chopped artichokes, peppers, cheese, mayonnaise and thyme. Stir until well combined.
Thinly spread the artichoke mixture over the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch pan that can safely go under the broiler or a large gratin pan. The dip should be no more than ½ inch thick. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat about 5 minutes, until dip is heated through and golden brown on top. Serve hot.
Phyllis Smith of Sun City serves this hot dip with crackers or Melba toast.
Artichoke Dip
¾ cup grated mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
½ teaspoon garlic powder
In a baking dish mix together the cheeses, mayonnaise, chopped artichoke hearts and garlic powder. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot.
Mary Ann Ledford of Hemet, Dorothy Martin of Sun City and Sheryl Savage and Marian Davidson of Riverside all submitted recipes.
Cristina Linehan of Grand Terrace finds this is always a hit when she makes it for parties. It goes with any kind of hard cracker.
Hot Artichoke Dip
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
Garlic salt and dill to taste
Mix Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and cream cheese well. Add artichokes; add seasonings to taste. Put into a greased baking dish and bake in 350-degree oven for 35 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
Donna Vedra of Temecula wanted a recipe for peanut butter cookies. This one was submitted by Pat Estabrook of Riverside who wrote she has been making these cookies for over 40 years . . . "They melt in your mouth."
Joyce's Peanut Butter Cookies
1/3 cup Crisco shortening
1/3 cup peanut butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
In bowl mix together well shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, sugar and egg. Mix in the flour, baking soda and salt; then vanilla. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Use tines of a fork to make crisscross pattern on top of each cookie. Bake in 400-degree oven for 12 to 13 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies should be soft when removed from oven; allow to sit on pan for couple of minutes before removing to wire rack.
Marty Silkotch of Anza has been trying to find a recipe for baked beans like her mother used to make. Also a chili bean recipe.
Heather Breyer of Redlands shared this recipe for baked beans, which is one of her husband's favorite dishes.
Wisconsin Oven-baked Beans
1 can (15-ounce) butter beans with liquid
1 can (15-ounce) Great Northern beans with liquid
1 can (15 ¼-ounce) kidney beans, drained
¾ pound thick-sliced bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces
1 cup diced onion
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
Combine butter beans, Great Northern beans and drained kidney beans in a 3 quart baking dish. Stir in bacon, onion, brown sugar, mustard and horseradish. Cover and bake in 325-degree oven 2 ½ to 3 hours. Uncover during the last hour of baking to brown top. Add water to beans during cooking, if necessary.
Darlene Dyar of Murrieta shared a recipe for baked beans made with navy beans, salt pork, molasses, mustard, onion and brown sugar.
Nan Pearson of Redlands submitted a similar recipe. Yen Cress of Riverside submitted a similar recipe with the note: "Salt pork is not a food to be recommended as it is so high in salt and fat. However, if is considered an essential ingredient of authentic Boston-style baked beans by traditionalists. It can be omitted if you desire a more wholesome dish."
Isabel Gibson of Corona shared her recipe for Classic Baked Beans with the note: "In case you forgot to put the beans to soak the night before use this alternative. Cover the beans with water, bring to boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand for 1 hour, tightly covered. Then proceed with the recipe just as if you had soaked them."
Cynthia Fowler of Corona also shared a recipe for Boston Baked Beans taken from The Boston Cooking School Cookbook, published in 1945. She feels the key to good beans is to use a bean pot, a scarce item these days.
Boston Baked Beans
1 quart pea beans
¾ pound salt pork
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon to 1 cup of molasses, according to taste
3 tablespoons sugar
Boiling water
½ teaspoon mustard, optional
Pick over beans, cover with cold water, and soak overnight. Drain, cover with fresh water, heat slowly (keeping water below boiling point), and cook until skins burst, which is best determined by taking a few beans on the tip of a spoon and blowing on them. The skins will burst if sufficiently cooked. Drain beans. Scald pork and scrape, remove ¼ inch slice and put in the bottom of a bean pot. Cut through the rind of remaining pork every half inch, making cuts 1 inch deep.
Put beans in the pot and bury pork in beans, leaving rind exposed. Mix salt, molasses, sugar and mustard (if using); add 1 cup boiling water and pour over beans; then add enough more boiling water to cover beans. Cover bean pot and bake 6 to 8 hours in 250-degree oven, uncovering the last hour of baking so the rind may become brown and crisp. Add water if needed. If pork mixed with lean is preferred, use less salt.
Variation: Baked beans New York style: Omit molasses and bake in a shallow pan. Arrange slices of salt pork over the top. Do not add water during the last hour of cooking.
Nan Pearson of Redlands shared this recipe for chili beans.
Chili Kidney Beans
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons fat
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 No. 2 can tomatoes
1 No. 2 can kidney beans
Cook onion and ground beef in fat until meat is lightly browned; stir often. Add salt, pepper and chili powder; add tomatoes and simmer gently for 1 hour. Add kidney beans and simmer 5 minutes. Makes 6 servings.
Readers' Requests
Anne Marie McCoy of Riverside has an enormous lemon tree. She wants to make lemon marmalade and needs a recipe.
Holly Roe of Corona wants to make a Caesar salad like the one served at El Torito restaurant.
Frank Grochowski of San Jacinto would like a recipe for making hot (take your breath away) horseradish or the brand name of equally hot commercial product.
Need a recipe or want to help a reader who is seeking one? Write to Liz Caesar, Cook and Tell, The Press-Enterprise, PO Box 792, Riverside, CA 92502-0792. Or e-mail to features@pe.net. Please include your daytime phone number.
Your full name and city -- but not your street address -- will be used with your contribution or request. Because of the volume of mail, not every contribution can be used and, to ensure a broader range of contributions, recipes from the same reader(s) will appear no more frequently than once every six weeks. No telephone inquiries, please.
Recipes are not tested by The Press-Enterprise.
Liz Caesar, a Cordon Bleu graduate, has studied and taught cooking in Asia, Europe and the United States. She has been writing the Cook and Tell column since 1975.
Published 3/18/1998