Hometown Get-Togethers - Candace Floyd [6]
5. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the egg mixture.
6. Combine the remaining ¼ cup sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until puffy and golden brown on the sides. Let stand for about 15 minutes before cutting.
7. Heat the jam in a large saucepan over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the strawberries. Serve the berry mixture warm on the side.
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TIPS FROM OUR TEST KITCHEN: This also works well with fresh blueberries and blueberry jam. For a large crowd, make both kinds of sauces, keeping them on the warming tray so guests can choose what they prefer. Have some maple syrup available, too, and pass whipped topping, if desired.
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Orange Juice French Toast
Elda Baumgartner, Rossiter, Pennsylvania
Serves 6 to 12
“One sleepy morning, I accidentally poured my orange juice into the French toast batter. Instead of throwing the mixture away, I decided to use it. Boy, was it good!”
ORANGE SYRUP
2 cups orange juice
2 cups light corn syrup
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
FRENCH TOAST
1½ cups milk
1 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, well beaten
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
Twelve 1-inch slices white or French bread
1. To prepare the syrup, combine the orange juice, corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.
2. To prepare the French toast, combine the milk, orange juice, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and eggs in a bowl. Whisk until well blended.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, quickly dip 3 bread slices in the egg mixture and place in the skillet. Cook until brown on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Place on a serving platter and cover to keep warm. Continue until all of the bread is cooked, adding additional butter as needed to prevent sticking.
4. Serve with the warm syrup. Refrigerate leftover syrup to serve with waffles, pancakes, or French toast.
Dream Coffee Cake
Laverne Koivisto, Ashtabula, Ohio
Serves 16 to 18
“I take this cake to VFW meetings and our church fish fries. It goes every time, with no leftovers! Try it—it’s wonderful.”
One 18-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1¾ cups chopped walnuts
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 13 × 9-inch baking pan.
2. Combine the cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs, and sour cream in a large bowl. Beat for 2 minutes with a mixer at low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl frequently. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts in a medium bowl.
3. Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture over the top. Repeat with the remaining batter and cinnamon mixture.
4. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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TIPS FROM OUR TEST KITCHEN: This coffee cake tastes of homemade comfort, but it only takes a few minutes to prepare. That’s why it’s a dream! It may be frozen.
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Appetizers
When it’s time for family and friends to gather, appetizers are the opening act, setting the stage for the occasion—be it a family dinner, holiday celebration, neighborhood picnic, or an office party. Whether they are casual and fun or elegant palate-tempters, the first course starts things off on the right foot.
Betty Key, of Gardendale, Alabama, always sent her Cheese Ring with Strawberry Preserves when her husband needed to take a dish to an office celebration at the Chevrolet dealership where he worked in Birmingham. It was so popular she usually doubled the recipe—and even after he retired,