Save Room For Dessert!

In the 1982 edition of “What’s Cooking in the Bluegrass,” 1,837 recipes were received from readers and 771 were for desserts.
The recipes were judged by Larry Corey, who was executive chef at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at that time; Tina Sandy Peter, who was extension agent for Fayette County, and Shirley Snarr, a professor of foods and nutrition at Eastern Kentucky University. Sheila Kay Hall of Wheelwright received $100 for her recipe for chocolate-peanut butter dessert. Here’s the recipe.

Chocolate-peanut butter dessert

Crust:
2 cups flour
2 sticks margarine
1 cup chopped pecans
Peanut butter layer:
1 8-ounce container frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
Chocolate layer:
3 small boxes instant chocolate pudding
4 1/2 cups milk
Topping:
1 large container frozen whipped non-dairy topping, thawed
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
To make crust: With a fork, cream margarine, flour and nuts together until crumbly. Spread crumbled mixture evenly in a 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Bake crust at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let crust cool completely before filling.
To make peanut butter layer: Cream peanut butter, sugar and cream cheese together. Add whipped topping and mix with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Pour into cooled crust.
To make chocolate layer: Mix pudding and milk with mixer at high speed until thick. Spread pudding over peanut butter layer.
To make topping: Spread whipped topping over pudding layer and sprinkle with coconut and pecans.

Nonnie Evans of Lexington said “a good flavorful apple,” was the key ingredient in her Ozark pie that won the dessert category. Here’s her recipe.

Nonnie’s Ozark pie

1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup apples, cut up
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat egg. Add sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add
pecans, apples and vanilla. Spread mixture into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Patty Biddle of Bourbon County worked with several recipes before she came up with snappy cheese spread that won the appetizer category.

Bourbon snappy cheese spread

2 pounds Kraft sharp cheese (do not substitute)
1 small onion, grated
1 medium size dill pickle, chopped
1 medium clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup dill pickle juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
5 tablespoons red hot sauce
1 tablespoon red pepper, crushed
1 cup salad dressing
Grate cheese into a large mixing bowl. Add grated onion, pickle, garlic, and mix together. Add pickle juice, Worcestershire, and hot sauce, crushed red pepper, and salad dressing. Blend together and refrigerate.

Kristen Shrout of Sharpsburg said her winning salad recipe “shows that the vegetable can be just as tasty raw as cooked.”

That broccoli salad

1 bunch fresh broccoli
1 large onion
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
Garlic powder
Seasoned salt
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/2 cup stuffed green olives
1/2 cup whole salted cashews
Wash broccoli and cut into bite-size chunks. Chop onion. Thinly slice mushrooms. Cut hard-boiled eggs into wedges. Put all of this into a large salad bowl and sprinkle with the garlic powder and seasoned salt. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise and mustard. Pour over vegetables and eggs and toss gently with a rubber spatula until all pieces are coated. Scatter olives and nuts over top. Cover and refrigerate (overnight, if possible).

Teresa Hall of Nicholasville created the winning vegetable recipe
because her husband’s favorite vegetable was corn.

Mexican corn casserole

1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons
1 can yellow corn, drained
1 can cream style corn
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
1 pint sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 small packages taco corn chips, crushed
Saute onion and pepper in 1/4 cup butter. Add corn. Combine Cheddar cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper. Fold into corn. Top with corn chips and dot with butter. Bake 35 minutes at 400 degrees.

Barbara Hamilton of Richmond had “only been into cooking for about two years” when she won the meat category in the 1982 What’s Cooking in the Blue Grass recipe contest. Affordable filets can be broiled or grilled.

Affordable fillets

5 slices bacon
1 pound lean ground beef
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 2-ounce can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
3 tablespoons finely chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
In a skillet, partially cook bacon. Drain. Pat ground beef on waxed
paper to a 12- by 7- by 1/4-inch rectangle. Sprinkle lightly with salt
and pepper. Top with cheese. Combine mushrooms, olives, onion and green peppers; sprinkle evenly over meat. Roll up jelly-roll fashion, starting from the short end. Cut into 1 1¼2-inch slices. Wrap edge of each slice with a strip of partially cooked bacon, securing with wooden picks. Broil to desired doneness or grill over medium coals. Serve on a platter with parsley sprigs and cherry tomatoes. Makes 5 servings.