Applesauce Cake, Brer Rabbit Gingerbread, Pineapple Upside Down Cake and more!

Applesauce Cake     Deni Finch-Frederick
Mom's note: I always serve this cake plain or with a little 10x sugar sprinkles on top.
Deni's note: I'm not sure if this is a Millville-specific recipe, but it was a standard in our house as we grew up in the 1950s-60s.
1/2 c shortening
2 eggs
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 c applesauce
2/3 c raisins
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c molasses
1 tsp baking soda
Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time beating after each. Add molasses. Sift together flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add alternately with applesauce to the mixture. Add raisins and mix well. Grease pan. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Brer Rabbit Gingerbread       Deni Finch-Frederick
Mom's note: I use a package of "Lem" for the lemon sauce for the topping on gingerbread.
Deni's note: This might have been my forever favorite cake and is certainly the source of my everlasting preference for lemon over chocolate.
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 c sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 c Brer Rabbit molasses
1 c hot water
Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and beat well. Sift together next 6 dry ingredients. Combine molasses and water and add alternately with flour mixture to creamed mixture. Line 8x8x2 greased pan with greased wax paper and pour in batter. Bake in moderate over (350) for 50-60 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Rice Pudding     Nanny Konschak
1 quart milk
1/3 c rice
1/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Add a small can of cream and 1 beaten egg last.
Simmer on stove for 1 1/2 hours.

Rice Pudding     Minnie Garton
4 TB rice
1/2 c sugar
Pinch of salt
1 can of cream added to enough milk to make 1 quart, plus 1 quate of extra milk. Bake in 2 quate casserole at 350 until it turns brown.

Banana Cake
1 1/2 c cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c shortening
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c milk
1 c mashed banana
Stft flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cream shortening and add sugar gradually. Add unbeaten eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Add dry mixture alternately with milk and banana to shortening mixture, stirring only enough to blend thoroughly. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 inch pans. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

5 Cup Salad     Dot Breslin
1 small can mandarin orange slices drained
1 c coconut
1 c or small container of sour cream
1 c miniature marshmallows
1 small can pineapple tidbits or chunks drained
Mix together well and chill.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake     Mary Hampton
1/3 c shortening
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 c pineapple juice
Mix all above ingredients. Grease pan and put 3/4 c brown sugar and pineapple rings and halved cherries in pan. Dot with butter. Pour cake mixture over pineapple rings. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before inverting on to dish.

Summer Delights

Zucchini Bread              Walda Passaro
Makes 2 loaves of bread.
3 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil
1 TB vanilla
2 c grated zucchini
2 c flour
1 TB cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
Beat eggs until frothy. Combine with sugar, oil and vanilla until thickened.
Stir in zucchini and the rest of the ingredients. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. Test after 45 minutes.

Hot Crab Dip     Claudia Goodwin
2 large packages of cream cheese
1/2 to 1 cup cottage cheese
2 TB minced onion
2 TB mayonnaise
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix in 1 lb lump crab meat.
Turn into oven safe casserole. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Sherbet      Minnie Garton
1 pint milk
3/4 c sugar
3 bananas
Small jar of cherries
1 can crushed pineapple
pinch of salt
Blend together and freeze in ice cube trays.

Fresh Peach Pie      Nanny Konschak
For pie crust:
3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
2 TB crisco
Mix crust, roll out and line a pie plate. Cover bottom of pie crust with a thin layer of breadcrumbs. Peel and slice enough peaches to over-fill the pie plate. Put peaches in pie crust and put a little sugar over the peaches. To 1 can of cream, add enough milk to measure 1 1/2 cups. Add a little sugar to the milk. Beat 3 eggs and add to the milk mixture. Pour over the peaches. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. Bake at 425 for just under 20 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 for another 1/2 hour.

My Childhood Hit List

Open Face Sandwich         Margaret Konschak

My mother used to spread baked beans on toast and top it with a slice of tomato, a thin slice of onion, a slice of cheese and two crossed slices of bacon and broil it. Sounds terrible but was pretty good and cheap.


Creamed Spinach on Fried Eggs with Home Fries

Here's another dish I remember having as a child. I don't know that I'd enjoy it today, but thought I'd mention it since we ate it quite a lot. I do remember the egg yolk being pretty good when mixed in with the spinach. At least we got our iron! 
Start the potatoes first as they will take longer. Brown 2 or 3 sliced potatoes in hot oil in a frying pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep heat low and cover. If they start to stick, add a little water around the edge. Try to turn potatoes only once so they don't become mushy. 
Cream the spinach by combining in a sauce pan 1/4 c butter, 1/4 c flour, 1 c milk,(what my mom always called "The basic White Sauce") 1 bag or 2 boxes of frozen spinach (I would use fresh today) salt and pepper. Fry eggs as you normally would and on the plate, put the creamed spinach over the fried eggs.


Vegetable Soup       Margaret Konschak
1 lb beef cubes
1 qt beef broth
1 qt water
2 stalks celery chopped
1 turnip diced
1 can dices tomatoes
1 large bag of frozen mixed vegetables
Thyme, parsley, bay leaf, dried basil, salt and pepper to taste
Pasta - orzo, broken spaghetti, or small shells (about 1/2 cup)
Brown meat in bottom of large pot. Add the rest of the ingredients except pasta. Simmer for three hours stirring occasionally. Remove meat and bay leaf and add pasta. Pull meat apart into small pieces and return to pot. Continue to cook until pasta is soft.

Quakers - Oatmeal Cookies     Margaret Konschak
2 c brown sugar
1 c shortening
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
3 c oats
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Cream sugar and shortening and then add eggs and vanilla. Mix together flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Blend into creamed mixture. Roll dough into balls the size of walnuts. Dip in granulated sugar and drop[ on greased cookie sheet 3 inches apart. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

Crab Imperial        Margaret Konschak
1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
Melt butter and mix in flour stirring constantly. Gradually add about 1 1/2 cups of milk continuing to stir. Season with salt and pepper. Cool sauce and add 1 can of crab meat. If you're using fresh picked crab meat, gradually add meat to sauce until the mixture holds together without being too dry or too soupy. If making crab cakes, let mixture cool before forming. Dip in beaten egg and then breadcrumbs. Makes 6 large cakes which can be broiled or fried. This can also be a casserole with a light coating of breadcrumbs on top dotted with butter.

Shake-A-The-Pot             Walt Konschak
Cook live crabs in a large pot of water, beer, and old bay seasoning. My dad always said that you knew when they were done when they stopped singing and turned red. Ugh. Cool the crabs and remove the legs and pinchers from the body.  
Melt a stick of butter in a frying pan. (My dad used an electric frying pan back in the day) Place crab bodies in a single layer in the melted butter. Sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning. Since you can't stir crabs, my dad would "shake the pot" to keep them from sticking. After they have bubbled in the butter for 3 or 4 minutes, turn them over, sprinkle with more Old Bay, add more butter if you like and shake again for a few minutes. Be prepared to have butter dripping everywhere as you pick the warm crabs and enjoy.

Home made crab measurer.
The points  of the shell had to be wider than the  opening or you had to throw them back.

Clams Casino                Walt Konschak
Recipe is the same whether you are making 20 or 200. We usually made 200! Use little neck clams. Good advice: If the clams open too easily or are already slightly open, don't use them! They ought to put up a little fight.
Open, loosen from shell and clean clams under cold running water. (Sand, bits of broken shell, any suspicious looking stuff that you wouldn't care to eat) Place clam on half of the shell and line up shells up on a baking sheet.
1 lb bacon - cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces (We don't precook the bacon - the broiler takes care of that)
1 lb cheddar cheese (like Cracker Barrel) sliced and then the slices cut in half
1 chopped green pepper and 1 chopped onion sautéed together in butter or oil.

My dad's old clam opener

On each clam place a spoonful of green pepper mixture, a small slice of cheese and a piece of bacon or two. When tray is assembled, place it under the oven broiler until bacon is crisp. Many a lip was burned in Sea Isle because we couldn't wait for them to cool.

Pepper Hash, Oyster Stew and SOS

Pepper Hash - Joyce DeHart-Gibson
Chop cabbage and green pepper and add equal parts of vinegar, sugar and water.  Store in the fridge in a glass container for a long time. I  also put celery seed in mine but you don't have to.

Oyster Stew - Margaret Konschak

1 pint oysters, shucked, with juice
1 quart milk or 1 quart half-and-half
1/4 cup butter
salt and black pepper
Old Bay (optional)

Cook oysters in their juice until edges just begin to curl.
Add milk, butter, salt and pepper.
Heat slowly, being careful to NOT boil.

Blind Stew - Carol L. Garrison
Same as Oyster Stew but leave out the oysters!

Dried Beef Gravy (SOS) - Anyone Who Ever Lived In Millville
                                                      1/4 lb dried beef
                                                      2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk Melt butter in skillet.

Tear the dried beef into small pieces & stir into the butter.  Brown meat lightly.  Stir in flour.  When flour is dissolved into butter, add milk, stirring constantly.  Salt and pepper to taste, but remember dried beef is salty.  Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens. Serve on toast, waffles, biscuits or almost anything.



Variations of SOS:
Robert Bruce Land - Graveyard Gravy:  Remove the meats and serve over either toast or biscuits. 

Butch Beebe - Red Eye Gravy:  My Grandmom and Mom would use bologna, hamburger or ham slice and make gravy.  Fry the ham slice and get some of its flavoring in the pan, add some butter and flour and then milk and a little coffee.  Back in the day, grandmoms and moms alike could stretch a dollar from here to Vineland and back when it came to cooking.  They had to.  And whatever they made tasted good and kept us alive.  Thank God for moms and grandmoms!!

Judi Grau Shute - Graveyard Stew:  Salted, buttered toast soaked in warm milk.  It was what we ate when we were very sick and could keep nothing else down.  Ready for the grave I guess is where it got its name.  My grandmom had 15 children and she always had family and friends in to eat.  She would make 6 pies at once.  Everything homemade.  This was before blenders and microwaves and anything convenient.  She used a wood stove with round grates on it with this special handle to remove them.  No one went hungry.