Mother Krehbiel’s Apple Cookies

If meeting a Krehbiel in Kansas were not almost as easy as running into a Johnson in Wisconsin, you could assume that “Mother Krehbiel” must refer to Jerri’s grandmother. However, when I called Jerri’s Aunt Hilda, who keeps track of such things, she said she couldn’t say for certain if that Mother Krehbiel was “unserich” (ours).

Therefore, I can only say that these apple cookies might have been one of Jerri’s grandmother’s favorites. Almost certainly the recipe found its way into The Centennial Treasury of Recipes of the Swiss (Volyhynian) Mennonites via some distant relative of my wife. (They’re all related.) And I think it’s safe to say that Jerri’s grandmother would have rated these cookies as one of her favorites.

What I can say without any weasel words like “may” or “might” is that these apple cookies are wonderful, easy to make and the kind of cookie that my mother baked when she had only a few minutes to make a dessert. She was a fast cook who would have the apples peeled and chopped, the batter finished and the first pan of cookies ready to go into the oven by the time it was hot. I wish that I were so efficient.

Set your timer and see how fast you can make apple cookies.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup lard or oleo
4 large eggs
2 cups chopped apples
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

PROCEDURE:

Peel, core and chop the apples and set them aside. Grease one or two cookie sheets. Preheat the oven to 350º.

Cream the lard with the sugar. Beat the eggs in one at a time. Sift the flour mixed with the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda into a bowl. Blend the oatmeal with the flour mixture. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.

Stir in the apples and raisins and mix well. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter on a cookie sheet and bake for 11 or 12 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on waxed paper.

NOTES: Jerri wrote “Good!” next to the recipe in our copy of the cookbook. Later, when I first made these cookies, I wrote “apple cookies p. 131 v. good” inside the front cover. We agree, but my note makes it easier to find this great recipe.

Jerri noted that this recipe makes five or six dozen cookies.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Another wonderful traditional peasant dish from Italy! That’s what I thought when I first tasted spaghetti alla carbonara. After all, the name suggests that this is a dish for charcoal burners (“carbonari” in Italian), who undoubtedly appreciated a filling meal that didn’t cost a lot.

Alas, the recipe seems to have been created to use the bacon and eggs given to the starving civilians of Rome by the U.S. Army at the end of World War II. Even if spaghetti alla carbonara is not something that Michelangelo ate for lunch while painting the Sistine Chapel, it is possible that he sat down to a plateful of spaghetti con cacio e uova (spaghetti with cheese and eggs), which is a similar dish minus the bacon but with the grease.

And since my speculator* is working at full speed today, let me say that the good women of Rome may have created the recipe to serve to the charcoal burners bringing fuel from the countryside to a city lacking power that first winter after the war. Whatever the origin of the recipe, spaghetti alla carbonara is a deliciously simple dish.

Today, many people omit the “alla” (which means “to” in Italian) from the name, but whatever you call it, “spaghetti carbonara” or “spaghetti alla carbonara” is a wonderful change from the red sauces and heavy cream sauces most of us associate with pasta dishes. The sauce consists only of eggs, a little oil and Parmesan cheese. If you like bacon, eggs and cheese, chances are good that you will enjoy this recipe.

Here is how to put it on the table in half an hour.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T olive oil
1/2 pound extra thick sliced bacon
3 or 4 cloves garlic
1 lb. spaghetti
4 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley leaves for garnish

PROCEDURE:

Put four large eggs in a bowl of warm water. Bring four or five quarts of water to a boil in a large pot or or Dutch oven.

While the water is heating, cut the bacon into half inch pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. You should have about a tablespoon of minced garlic. Grate the Parmesan cheese and set it aside.

Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a large skillet and add the bacon. Fry the bacon over medium heat until slightly crisp. Remove the bacon and drain it on a paper towel in a bowl. Remove the skillet from the heat. You should have about three tablespoons of oil in the skillet. Dip out or add a little as necessary.

Beat the eggs until they are lemon yellow in a small bowl. Whisk about half the grated Parmesan cheese and a quarter teaspoon salt into the eggs.

When the water comes to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt and the spaghetti. Cook eight or nine minutes to the al dente stage. Before draining the spaghetti, reserve a cup of the pasta water.

About two minutes before the spaghetti is done, return the skillet to the burner, turn the heat to medium and sauté the garlic for half a minute. Return the bacon to the skillet and make a generous grind of fresh black pepper over the bacon. Turn the heat to low.

Now you have to work quickly. Drain the spaghetti and put it in the skillet with the bacon and garlic. Mix everything together for about a minute. Turn off the heat and dribble the eggs into the hot pasta while you stir briskly to keep the eggs from curdling. Sprinkle on the rest of the grated Parmesan cheese and stir until you have a smooth sauce covering each strand of spaghetti. If the sauce seems too thick and dry, stir in a few tablespoons of the hot pasta water until you have the consistency you want.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Mound on individual plates and garnish with a little chopped parsley. Serve with a green salad and a red wine such as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or a good domestic Pinot Noir.

NOTES: It is important to have the eggs at or a little above warm room temperature so they will cook properly in the hot spaghetti.

Do not use the grated Parmesan cheese sold in plastic jars. You can buy grated Parmesan cheese in the dairy case at the supermarket or better yet, buy a wedge of good Parmesan cheese and grate it just before you use it. The better the cheese, the better the flavor. Top of the line is Parmigiano-Reggiano, which is imported from Italy and pricy, but a good quality domestic Parmesan cheese will work fine.

If you don’t have one already, consider picking up a cheese grater. It has a little hopper that you put a chunk of cheese in so it rests against a metal drum turned with a small crank. The grater handle is hinged. You press the cheese against the drum with the handle while you turn the crank and watch the grated cheese pile up on a plate. These gadgets sell for under ten dollars, and they are worth every penny.

*If you want to know what a speculator is, click here: The Speculator.