DuMond Twins Turn 55!

Ace and Mark DuMond celebrate their 55th birthday today!

That's 110 years between the two of 'em. A century and a decade of experience, wisdom, creativity, family, fun and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Happy Birthday, DuMonds...

Corn Casserole

This easy recipe comes from Lois Rhodes in Medford, Oregon.

2 cans cream corn
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped olives
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 beaten eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients and top with crumbs. Dot tip with 2 Tbsp. butter.

Bake for one hour at 350.

(You can add chopped ham, etc.)

Buttermilk Pie

On a recent visit to Medford, Oregon, Sheri' and Mark DuMond literally swiped this recipe out of the recipe files of Lois Rhodes, Sheri's mom.

3 eggs
2 Tbsp. flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cube melted butter

Beat eggs well. Mix eggs, flour and sugar together. Add butter and buttermilk. Pour into raw pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees. When crust begins to brown, decrease oven heat to 325. Bake until a knife comes out clean (like custard).

Sandy's Chili Beans

This recipe comes from Sandy Jimenez in Southern Oregon:

3 large cans Hunt's small red beans
(Ed. Note: A search of Hunt's site online indicates they don't sell canned beans any more so you may have to substitute another brand.)
1 large can tomato sauce (16 oz.)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
1.5-2 lb. hamburger
Garlic salt

Brown the hamburger, onion and bell pepper. Drain the beans and add to the sauteed meat and vegetables. Add tomato sauce, one can water and stewed tomatoes.

Cook slow for two hours and serve.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a time-honored dish from the recipe file of the Rhodes family in Medford, Oregon.

4 chicken breast halves
2 14 oz. cans chicken broth
4 Tbsp. butter
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced onions
1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
4 Tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup frozen peas
Drop biscuits (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place chicken in a medium pot with chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken and allow to cool, then remove the chicken meat from bones. Strain off two cups of the broth and keep hot in a small saucepan.

Melt butter in a medium pot. Add carrots and saute over medium heat for five minutes. Add celery and onions and saute an additional five minutes. Stir in flour and cook to form a smooth paste (roux). Gradually stir in reserved chicken broth, stirring constantly to form a smooth, thickened mixture. Stir in thyme, salt and pepper. Then stir in peas and reserved chicken.

Spoon the chicken mixture into a two quart casserole. Set aside.

Heap drop biscuits onto the chicken mixture, forming 5-8 biscuits. Bake the pie for 30 minutes and serve immediately.

DROP BISCUITS

1 cup flour
Dash salt & sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
4 Tbsp. butter
10 Tbsp. milk

Place flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a mixing bowl and stir. Cut butter into small slivers and cut into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles small peas. Add milk and toss briefly until sticky.

Crab-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

From Mark & Sheri' DuMond's blog, a longtime favorite way to have baked potatoes:

Baked potatoes are great in an of themselves. But they're even better when dressed up with additional ingredients. For an example, check out our Recipe #32 (Veggie Bakers).

This recipe ups the ante by adding a little decadence: crab meat. We first tried this recipe several years ago, having lifted it from an ad by the Washington State Potato Foundation. It was originally created by Kathy Casey, one of Seattle's better-known cooking legends. We altered it a bit to make it "our" recipe, but it was certainly inspired by the one we found in the magazine ad.

The freshness and quality of the crab you use in this dish is critical. Very fresh crab meat is sweet and delicate, but crab that's been sitting around too long can turn this recipe into an unpleasant affair.

Makes four servings.

4 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and punctured with a fork

8 scallions, trimmed, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 cup lowfat milk
1/4 lb. reduced-fat cream cheese
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. canned diced jalapeno peppers
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 cup shredded asiago cheese
3/4 lb. very fresh high-quality crab meat
1 8-oz. package frozen artichoke hearts

Extra asiago or other cheese for topping the spuds.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the potatoes in the oven and bake until very tender and cooked through. Start checking on them after 45 minutes by pulling a spud out and sinking the tip of a sharp knife into the center. If the potato offers any resistance, put it back in the oven and keep checking every five minutes or so. After you're sure the potatoes are well baked all the way through, remove them from the oven and allow to cool for 10 or 15 minutes.

While the spuds are in the oven, heat the olive oil in a small skillet, add the green onions, and saute for a couple of minutes just until they're cooked but not browned.

Meanwhile, add the frozen artichoke hearts to boiling water and cook for a few minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool quickly. Chop them into bite size pieces.

Mix together in a large bowl the milk, cream cheese, mayo, jalapenos, garlic and cooked scallions.

After the baked potatoes have cooled a bit so you can handle them, cut the tops off lengthwise and scoop out as much potato flesh as you can, leaving a thin shell that can stand on its own. Add the potato pulp to the mixing bowl and mix well. Stir in the crab meat, chopped artichokes and asiago cheese.

Using a large spoon, put the potato mixture back into each baked potato shell. Sprinkle additional cheese on top of each spud. Put the potatoes back in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the tops are golden and the spuds are cooked through.

Other than a simple green salad, you don't really need anything more than this to make a first class meal.