Fruit Salad

Gramma MAS loved compiling fancy fruit salads. My mom took her fruity fun a step further and added whipped cream and pecans to the top of the salad to make it truly irresistible.

FRUIT SALAD
1 cantaloupe, peeled and cut into pieces
2-4 oranges, peeled and cut into pieces
2-4 apples, cored and sliced into pieces
1 pint of strawberries, stems removed and sliced
1 jar of maraschino cherries, juice included
1-2 cans of pineapple chunks, juice included
1/2 bunch of green grapes, removed from stem

optional:
blueberries
blackberries
pomegranate seeds
mini-watermelon
peaches
Basically any fruit you'd like to add. The more the better!
pecans (to top the salad)

Make sure all fruit is washed, prepared and cut into bite size pieces. Compile the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir. Let sit for 10 minutes to let juices combine. In the meantime...

WHIPPED CREAM
1 carton of heavy whipping cream
1 t vanilla
1/4 C powdered sugar (more if you like it sweeter)

Pour cream into a mixing bowl. Add vanilla. Start beating on high with a mixer. Slowly add powdered sugar. Continue to beat until peaks begin to form in the cream. Beat until you achieve desired texture.

Serve fruit salad in a bowl. Top with whipped cream and pecans, if desired.

Grape Sherbet

Gramma MAS' aunt Lola invented this gorgeous grape sherbet as a foods project in college. Lola took her Aunt Rosa's grape ice cream idea and turned it into this yummy treat. The infusion of grape juice, sugar, and lemon gives it an original taste that is truly scrumptious.

GRAPE SHERBET
1 package of Knox gelatin
1/2 C cold water
1 C boiling water
2 C sugar
the juice of 4 lemons, freshly squeezed
1/8 t of salt
1 1/2 pints of Welch's grape juice
1 quart of half and half
1 can of evaporated milk

Pour the cold water into a small mixing bowl. Dissolve the gelatin in the cold water by stirring. Next, pour the boiling water over the cold water with the gelatin and stir. Pour the mix into the ice cream canister and add all of the other ingredients while constantly stirring. After the ingredients are mixed, taste it. You want the mix to be a bit sweeter and grapier than you'd prefer it to be. Add sugar and grape juice until you get to that desired taste. Put the canister into the ice cream machine and pack it with ice and rock salt. The usual ratio to do that is 2 inches of ice followed by an inch of rock salt, repeat until freezer is packed full. The freezing process usually takes around 45 minutes. Serve and then freeze left overs.

Note: this recipe is made in a large (5 quart) ice cream freezer. If you need to you can adjust the recipe to fit a smaller freezer.

Pfeiffer's Perfect Pie Crust

Uncle Jan's mother is an expert pie maker. Her secret is in her crust recipe. She graciously gave my dad her recipe years ago. He claims there is no better pie crust recipe in the world, and I agree! The secret to a great crust is to not over work the dough. Keep that in mind if you decide to take on this scrumptious crust.

PERFECT PIE CRUST

3 C flour
1 1/2 C of shortening
1 1/2 t of salt
1 1/2 eggs
1/3 C water
1 1/2 T cider vinegar

Combine flour and salt in large mixing bowl. Cut shortening into flour mix until it is just mixed and has a coarse texture, like cornmeal. Add the eggs, water and vinegar. Blend the wet ingredients into the mix until it is just mixed. Put your hands into the dough to finish meshing all the ingredients together. Divide the dough in half. Roll out half of the dough onto a lightly floured surface. It should be about a quarter of an inch thick. Fold the rolled out dough in half, pick it up and place it in the bottom of a pie dish. Lightly press the dough into the sides of the pie dish. Trim the dough making sure to leave about an inch of excess dough around the edges. Fill the dish with the pie filling you prepared ahead of time. If you desire a top crust, roll out the other half of the dough, fold it and place it atop the pie. Trim excess dough off the sides and seal the edges. Put little slits with a knife in the top of the pie for ventilation. Sprinkle sugar over the pie. Wrap the pie loosely with foil making a tent to prevent the crust from getting too crispy. Bake according to pie recipe instructions, making sure to remove the foil tent the last 10 minutes of the bake time. P.S. Sometimes we save the extra dough and cut it into decorative shapes to bake atop the pie.

Dad's Cherry Pie

This ain't your momma's cherry pie, it's my daddy's! Gramma MAS and Dad had an ongoing battle on who made the best cherry pie. For the record, they both made a scrumptious pastry but my Dad's is out-of-this-world good! Why is it sooooo yummy you ask? Well, it doesn't taste like the regular, super tart, thick gel stuff inside of it cherry pie. This recipe is one of a kind. I actually do not like any other cherry pie, but Dad's is what a true cherry pie tastes like. If you venture to try this recipe it is very important you buy the right brand of ingredients.... no cheating!

DAD'S CHERRY PIE
2 cans of Oregon brand pitted pie cherries
1/3 C of cherry juice, reserved from the can
1/4 t salt
1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 C sugar
1 T butter, softened
2 1/2 T tapioca
1/4 t almond extract
1/2 t red food coloring

Open the cans of cherries and drain a third of the juice into a mixing bowl. Drain the rest of the juice into the sink. Combine all the above ingredients into the mixing bowl containing the cherry juice. Let the cherries sit while you prepare the crust. After the crust is prepared, rolled out, placed in the pie dish, trimmed and ready pour the cherries on top of the bottom crust in the dish. Place the top section of the crust over the cherries and seal the edges with a fork or your fingers. Slice a few venting areas in the top of the pie with a knife. Sprinkle a bit of sugar over the top of the pie. Wrap foil over the top of the pie and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 minutes. Open the oven and remove the foil layer. Bake for another 10 minutes until the crust has a golden brown glow. Remove from oven, when done, and let sit before serving.

Hummingbird Cake

Last Easter my mother found this recipe in Woman's Day magazine. The thought of this cake made her mouth water so she challenged me to try baking it. I did so and all I can state is that it was the perfect grand finale to our Easter festivities.

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

3 C flour
2 C sugar
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
3/4 C vegetable oil
2 t vanilla
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice
2 C mashed, ripe bananas (about 4-5 bananas)
1 C pecans, finely chopped (optional)

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 bricks of Neufchatel cream cheese
1/2 C butter
2 t vanilla
3 C powdered sugar
2 C flaked coconut (optional)

Adjust racks to divide your oven into thirds. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. In another large bowl whisk eggs, oil, vanilla, pineapple, bananas, and pecans until just blended. Add wet mix to the flour mix and stir until just combined. Divide batter evenly amongst three non-stick spray coated, 8 inch round cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick, inserted in the middle, comes out clean. Cool cake in pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Invert and remove cake from pans and let cool completely on racks. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until lite and creamy. On low speed gradually mix in powdered sugar until fluffy. Place a cake layer on a serving platter. Gently slide pieces of wax paper under the edges of the cake layer to prevent a messy looking frosting spread. Spread about 3/4 cup of frosting over the top of the layer. Put the next layer on top of the bottom layer and repeat. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle coconut flakes on top, allowing some to fall over onto the sides. Cover the cake until you serve it. You may refrigerate the covered cake just remember to take it out 45 minutes before you serve it so it can get back to room temperature.