There were no more than 300 students in grades 1-12 at Baker Academy and I graduated with pretty much the same 17 people I started 1st grade with. Needless to say, I knew these people quite well and knew exactly
what I wanted their mother's to make when I came to visit. Lisa's
mother, Ms. Martha made an 'apricot nectar cake', Susan's mom "Ms.
Betty" made a 'peach pie' and the list goes on. My mother has many of
these recipes saved in a nice little recipe box after her Baker
Academy cookbook was reduced to shreds.
The "Baker" cookbook was the first one I ever used. It's a compilation of the best recipes from all the families I grew up with. I wish we would have been more gentle with it as was typed on plane paper and bound with spiral plastic; no doubt a project a group of mother's took on, probably 'assembly-line' style in the school lunchroom.
Several years ago, when my grandmother died, guess what we found? An old Baker Academy cookbook. The cover is missing but it's in pretty good shape. I'm thinking about making copies of it and giving them to all my friends, who ask me for the same recipes that I always ask my mom for that come from the Baker Academy cookbook.
HOT BROCCOLI MUSHROOM DIP
1 bunch green onion, minced
1 stick butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (can use garlic powder)
2 boxes chopped broccoli
1 lg. can mushrooms (stems & pieces)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
6 oz. jar Cheez Whiz
Tabasco & Worcestershire sauce to taste
Cook broccoli in juice of mushrooms; drain. Saute onions, garlic and mushrooms in butter. Add broccoli, mushrooms, soup and the cheese. Cook, stirring frequently until cheese is melted and mixture is heated through. Season with Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Serve with Fritos or your chips of choice.
RITZ PECAN PIE
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans*
20 Ritz crackers, finely crushed (Yes Ritz)
1/2 pint whipping cream and 1 Hershey's chocolate bar (or any chocolate will do)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff. Fold in sugar, vanilla, pecans and Ritz cracker crumbs. Grease well 1 round glass pie pan; fill with egg white mixture. Bake for 30 minutes
Cool for 15 minutes.
Whip cream until stiff and spread over pie. Top with grated chocolate.
*Can use 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of pecans
Laura grew up in a small southern town in Georgia on a cotton and pecan farm where life centered around family, friends and good food. She has lived in Atlanta for 20 years and has been a Flight Attendant for a major airline for 18 years, traveling the world in search for the next best meal.