Carolina Kitchen

Linda Miller’s egg salad is legendary among volunteers working at animal rescue events in Raleigh. Here is her recipe, tweaked to use bread-andbutter pickles. You can also use dill or sweet pickle cubes, or a combination. But no matter which pickles you pick, drain them very well to prevent soggy salad. Serve on sliced bread, in pitas or scooped alongside tomato wedges. 6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled ½ cup diced celery ½ cup diced red onion ¼ cup chopped bread-andbutter pickles, drained well ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste ¼ cup mayonnaise 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Chives, chopped (optional)

Slice the hard-cooked eggs into a large bowl. Chop up the eggs or use a pastry blender to cut them up.

Add the celery, onion, pickles, pepper and salt, and combine. Stir in the mayonnaise and mustard.

Cover and refrigerate. Keep cold until serving. Sprinkle with chives.

Yield: About 4 cups Unless otherwise noted, recipes on this page are from Debbie Moose (debbiemoose.com), who has authored seven cookbooks and is a former food editor for The News & Observer in Raleigh.

Pimento Cheese Biscuits The boom in locally made pimento cheese provides lots of options for these biscuits. (Try jalapeño!) When the biscuits are completely cool, they can be put in bags and frozen. Serve as-is with butter, or slice and fill with sausage patties, sliced tomatoes — or it’s hard to go wrong with more pimento cheese! 2 cups flour ¼ teaspoon cayenne 1 tablespoon baking powder pepper (optional) 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup chunky pimento cheese ¾–1 cup milk Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spray a baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper, if using. Add the pimento cheese and use a pastry blender to cut it into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk about ¼ cup at a time until the mixture forms a wet, but not soggy, dough. You may not need a full cup of milk.

Drop by large tablespoons onto the baking pan, placing the biscuits close together. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until the tops and bottoms are lightly brown.

Fruity Snack Bars Granola bars make great travel fuel, but they’re often too sweet or chewy. Make these dairy-free bars any way you like them! Substitute chopped nuts or mini-chocolate chips for the fruit. Pack the bars straight from the freezer and they’ll be thawed when the hungries hit. 2 cups rolled oats ⅓ cup dried blueberries 1 cup flour ⅓ cup chopped dates ¼ teaspoon salt 1 package (16-ounce) ¼ teaspoon cinnamon silken tofu ½ cup packed brown sugar ¼ cup oil ⅓ cup dried cranberries ¼ teaspoon vanilla

Spray an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan and a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar, breaking up any clumps of sugar with a fork or your hands. Stir in the cranberries, blueberries and dates.

In a medium bowl, mash the tofu until no large pieces remain. Stir in the oil and vanilla.

Add the tofu mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be thick. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan and bake for 20–30 minutes or until lightly brown and cooked through.

When done, remove the pan from the oven and cut into 12 pieces. Place the pieces on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10–15 minutes, or until the edges are golden. If you prefer a crispier bar, turn off the oven and leave them up to 15 minutes longer.

Let the bars cool completely, then eat immediately or place in airtight bags and freeze.

Yield: 12 bars

Homemade Berry Ice Cream Each month, we take a look back at some old favorites from our recipe archive. For June, check out “Homemade Berry Ice Cream” from 1970. See this recipe and more at carolinacountry.com/kitchencorner.

Angel Food Cheesecake Cookies These light, fluffy cookies combine the airy taste of angel food cake with the creamy decadence of cheesecake. A perfect dessert to finish off a summer meal! 1 stick salted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract room temperature 1 box angel food cake mix 1 1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese egg 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon teaspoon nutmeg

Soften cream cheese and butter on counter before beginning.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the egg and vanilla extract.

Beat in the angel food cake mix, adding slowly in small amounts. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour until slightly firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and nutmeg. Scoop tablespoons of chilled batter onto ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. If batter sticks, flour your fingertips to make transfer easier. Sprinkle each cookie with a dash of spice mixture if you like.

Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies will be soft. Cool completely and dust with more spice mixture.

Yield: Make 24–36 cookies

Recipe courtesy of Stephanie Carter of Winnabow, a member of Brunswick Electric

Send Us Your Recipes

Contributors whose recipes are published will receive $25. We retain reprint rights for all submissions. Recipes submitted are not necessarily entirely original. Include your name, address, phone number (for questions), and the name of your electric cooperative. Mail to: Carolina Country Kitchen, 3400 Sumner Blvd., Raleigh, NC, 27616. Or submit your recipe online at: carolinacountry.com/myrecipe.

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