Grandma Bess’s clam chowder

  2- 1 pound cans of Razor clams chopped. (If using other types of clams that you have dug be sure and save the

           juice/nectar  that is left after steaming, remove bellies and chop remainder into small pieces, strain the juice

           and use in chowder.)

  ½ large white onion (diced)

  6 strips bacon (chopped)

  2 stocks celery (diced)

  ¼ cube butter

  1 pint half & half (or 13 oz canned milk)

  ½ cup corn starch

  1 tsp parsley flakes

  ½ tsp. salt

  1 tsp. Johnny’s Seafood seasoning

  Black pepper to suit

    Brown diced bacon in skillet. Put bacon, onion, and celery in large kettle and simmer until tender with just   enough water to cover. Add potatoes, cook until half done. Add Clams and Clam juice, seasoning and corn starch (paste) 5 minutes before potatoes are cooked. Add milk, (do not boil) and parsley flakes. Add butter. Serves 6-8. This is an extra thick chowder and quite rich, if you like it thinner use less corn starch.

  Make these scrumptious muffins on a weekend, freeze, then quickly reheat on workday mornings.

  2 cups shredded bran cereal
  1 cup milk
  2 very ripe bananas, mashed
  2/3 cup sugar
  1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
  2 eggs
  2 cups all-purpose flour
  1 tablespoon baking powder
  1/8 teaspoon salt
  1-1/4 cups California raisins
  1/2 cup chopped nuts

  Preheat oven to 400° F. In medium bowl, mix cereal, milk and bananas; let stand 10 minutes. In bowl, beat sugar and butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat just until smooth. Stir in raisins, nuts and the reserved cereal mixture just until mixed. Spoon batter, dividing equally, into 12 greased or paper-lined 2-3/4 inch muffin cups. Bake about 20 minutes or until pick inserted into centers comes out clean. Remove to rack to cool slightly; serve warm. Muffins can be wrapped in heavy-duty aluminum foil and frozen up to 2 months.

Makes 12 muffins.

    Fruit Ambrosia with Rum

          1/4         cup sugar
        1/4         cup water
        2            tbsp. white rum
        3            tbsp. fresh lime juice
        4            cups of fruit (mango, kiwi, grapes, strawberries, banana, nectarine or
                      any fruit in season)
        2            tbsp. flaked sweetened coconut, toasted

        In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water.  Bring to a
        boil, cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves.  Remove from
        heat, stir in rum and lime juice.  Cool completely

        Combine fruit, add rum syrup and toss gently.  Divide between
        4 dessert glasses, pour remainder of syrup over fruit and sprinkle with coconut.

        Recipe can be doubled or tripled.

        Elegant dessert for a special dinner.  Serve with a sugar cookie.

   Crab Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce

   Crack crab.  Be careful to keep in big pieces.

   Make hollandaise sauce or use a package and add lemon to taste.

   Toast English Muffins and butter.

   Bring water or milk to a bubble in fry pan. Turn down slightly and crack eggs in pan. Cook to desired doneness.

    If using milk, add   1tsbp.butter and ¼ tsp. salt.

   In a small bowl add crab and warm in micro, about 20-30 seconds. Be careful not to overheat.

   Add a little milk to hollandaise to thin and put back on to heat.

   Spread about ½ cup of crab to top of English muffin then poached egg and spoon hollandaise over top, salt and

   pepper and serve immediately.

   Potato Pancakes (If serving with Eggs Benedict)

   Boil enough potatoes in salted water to make 2-3 cups of mashed potatoes the day before.  Be sure and keep

   them a little on the dry side.

   Next day add about 1 T of flour to about 2 cups of potatoes.  Chop several green onions with green tops and add to

   potatoes.  Can also add small bits of ham, bacon or sausage.  Mix well and make into patties about an inch or

   so thick and fry on a greased fry pan on medium to low till brown on each side.  Do not turn to quickly or they will fall apart.

   Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

   4                     slices bacon

   1#                    spicy bulk breakfast sausage

   1/4-cup            bacon fat-saved from bacon

   1/3-cup            flour

   4-1/2 to5 cups  milk

   In a large fry pan, cook bacon over medium-high to high heat till crisp.  Drain on paper towel.  Let fat cool slightly.

   Measure ¼ cup of bacon fat and set aside.  Discard rest, saving all of brown bits in bottom of pan.

   In another fry pan, cook sausage over medium-high to high heat until brown. Drain on paper towel.  Discard clear fat.

    Scrape up all of the brown bits and add to bacon pan.  Pour saved bacon fat back into pan with all of the brown bits

   of bacon and sausage.

    Over medium heat, add flour and cook about 1 minute till flour mixture turns light golden color. Remove from heat

   till cool. Add 1 cup of milk and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon till smooth.  Add 1 more cup of milk and stir till

   smooth.   Add 2 more cups of milk and return to medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a bubbly

   simmer.  Simmer about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. Add sausage.  Add rest of milk to desired thickness.

   This gravy is better if slightly on the thin side to pour over biscuits.

   Use crisp bacon slices for a BLT or bacon bits.

   Lighter-than-air Buttermilk Biscuits

   1/3        cup butter or margarine, cut up

   2          cups Self-Rising Soft Wheat Flour (White Lily)

   7oz.       Buttermilk

   Butter or margarine, melted

   Preheat oven to 425*F.

   Cut 1/3 cup (6 tbsp) butter into small marble size pieces and drop into flour.  Cut into flour with a pastry blender

   until crumbly; add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

   Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 4 or 6 times until nice ball forms.

   Pat or roll dough to ¾ inch thickness; cut with a sharp edged biscuit cutter, place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

   Bake at 425* for 14 to 16 minutes or till golden brown.  Brush biscuits with melted butter if desired.

   Yield: 7-9 biscuits

   Alaska Dungeness Crab San. broiled

   1 lb. Fresh Dungeness crab meat keeping pieces as whole as possible

   1 stock celery with leaves diced fine

   1/4 to ½  medium sweet onion diced fine

   5 tbsp. mayonnaise or salad dressing

   4 tsp. hot and spicy mayonnaise (optional but great)

   Salt and pepper to taste

   2 English muffins

   4 Cheddar cheese or Swiss cheese slices (or 8 small slices

   Preheat oven to broil.

   Combine all ingredients except crab in a large bowl. Mix well.  Add crab meat and turn with a fork carefully to

   keep crab pieces whole. 

   Slice English muffins and toast until crispy -  cut side only. Spread ¼ of mixture on each muffin half.

    Place on small cookie sheet and bake till crab is hot.  Remove from oven and add cheese slice to top of crab. 

   Broil until cheese is melted and golden brown.

   Serve with fresh fruit salad for a delicious lunch.