Aunt Gladys' Disappearing Chili Sauce

This chili sauce has a unique history. It came from my great aunt Gladys on my father's side (where she got it I do not know). Aunt Gladys passed it to my mother after she had tasted it during a visit to their Oklahoma home. I remember I was about four at the time, and was quite taken with their lovely home that included a vast rose garden and walk-in freezer. You might want to read those last couple of words again. My mother was in absolute heaven at the thought of a walk-in freezer. She was an avid maker of pies, and could envision them all stacked up waiting to be baked at some future point.

After we concluded our visit and returned home, my mother made the chili sauce. She loved it, I loved it, everybody loved it. Next year, following a bumper crop of tomatoes, she decided to make it again, but couldn’t find the recipe. That recipe stayed hidden for the next decade or so. Aunt Gladys had passed away at that point, and no one knew what had become of it.

Fast forward five more years when my mother pulled out an old cookbook to use, and found the chili sauce recipe that she'd apparently used as a bookmark. Immediately, she sat down, wrote out a copy, and gave it to me for safekeeping, just in case she lost it again. After my mother passed away, I had such a taste for that chili sauce that I went in search of my copy, but, alas, couldn’t find it. About a year ago, I did. It was during the winter, so I decided I was going to put it somewhere for safekeeping so as not to have it escape me during the summer. You know what I’m going to say here, right? I did lose it. Then I found it, and then I lost it again.

When I finally found it for the last time I decided that I was going to do something so as to prevent this from ever happening again -- I framed it. It is now hanging on the wall in my kitchen where I see it every day, and am thankful for my mother, my aunt, and a family history that caused such a stir. Because it gives me such a warm feeling every time I see it, I encourage you to consider giving one of your old family recipes this same treatment, and if you do, I would like to hear about it.

Come back tomorrow for the chili sauce recipe in readable form with my delicious adjustments.

 
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My Grandma’s Vanilla Sauce

This is my grandmother’s vanilla sauce. It is thick and luxuriant, and enhances absolutely everything with which it comes into contact. My mother and grandmother both used to use it on strawberry shortcake. When I was a kid, I didn’t much care for strawberries. So, I would crumble the shortcake, drizzle a little strawberry juice (no pieces of fruit for me), and then ladle on the vanilla sauce. It was heaven in a bowl!

I never quite learned how to make vanilla sauce, because I didn’t know the secret back then on how to keep eggs from curdling when adding them to a hot liquid. My grandmother's recipe, recently excavated from my mother's recipe box, was little help. Aside from the list of ingredients (not in order), it provided no instruction whatsoever; reading this recipe makes me wonder how anybody could possibly make a decent vanilla sauce.

But, that's the way all of my grandmother’s recipes work. She knew how to cook, she didn’t use a recipe, and it was difficult for her to write anything down because she knew what she did, but found that it wasn’t all that easy to explain.

This afternoon, while watching the ball game (reflected in the door of the microwave over the stove), I stirred up a batch of this vanilla sauce after making a batch of strawberry scones. I figured that, in order to have the absolute ultimate strawberry shortcake, why make a plain old shortcake? I will ladle this luscious sauce over fresh strawberry-studded strawberry scones!

Here is my grandmother's vanilla sauce recipe, deciphered. This is what I did. You can watch television reflected in the microwave, or not. It won’t make a difference either way. 

My Grandma’s Vanilla Sauce

2 Tablespoons flour

1½ – 2 Tablespoons cold water

2 cups whole milk

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour and water to form a slurry; set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together milk and sugar. Heat to a simmer, whisking occasionally. In a small, separate bowl, beat egg until well blended. Take the hot whisk from the milk mixture and whisk the egg mixture. Move the whisk back and forth between these two mixtures 3-4 times in order to temper the eggs to prevent them from curdling. Slowly pour tempered egg into the hot milk and sugar, whisking constantly. Add the slurry. Cook over medium heat until it reaches the thickness desired. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Cool.

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If you prefer a more sophisticated sauce with a bit of adult refreshment added, this Whiskey Caramel Sauce can do amazing things to strawberries and shortcake!

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Shirley’s Spiced Peaches

As I mentioned earlier, I waxed nostalgic at my Boxing Day Brunch this year, using recipes both old and new, both sentimental, and not, and it made for an interesting meal.

Every brunch, I think, should have fruit as one of its offerings. I chose to use a recipe that I have had for many years, and that my mom had pretty much since she was first married. This recipe called Spiced Peaches was given to her by maid of honor, Shirley Fick. It's spicy, and zingy, and very good. I’ve tried it with both fresh and canned peaches and, honestly, the canned work better. Obviously this is an amazingly easy dish to put together, pretty much all you have to do is open a couple of cans. Don’t let the canned fruit deter you from trying it. It is wonderful.

Shirley’s Spiced Peaches

1 cup vinegar
1 cup honey
3 whole cloves
3 Melissa’s cinnamon sticks
6 cups canned peaches
1 can Bing cherries, drained
1/2 cup apricot brandy (or any kind of brandy)

Mix together vinegar, honey, cloves, and cinnamon in a large pan. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and cook about 10 minutes. Add peaches and cherries and heat through. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Chill several hours or overnight. (Note: I have found that the flavor intensifies the longer you keep it. These will last 5-7 days in the fridge.)

Shirley mentions in the recipe that it is wonderful when served from a chafing dish, but can also be offered at both room temperature or chilled. She adds that it goes well with pork, ham, or lamb.

Shirley is on the far left; my mom is the one with the toothy grin (or maybe it's terror).

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