Aunt Irene's Hot Cole Slaw

This recipe is a favorite of mine. It's especially good for all of those 4th of July picnics or luncheons that will be enjoyed next week. I think all of our family likes our Aunt Irene's version of a classic salad.

You will need the following ingredients:

1 head cabbage, shredded

1 large onion, shredded

1/2 cup sugar

Sprinkle sugar over shredded cabbage and onion. Set aside.

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

3/4 cup vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup Wesson oil

Place sugar, celery seed, celery salt , mustard, vinegar and salt in pan; bring to boil. Then add Wesson oil and bring to a boil again. Pour over cabbage mixture.

Chill—the longer the better.

Judy's Mustard Potato Salad

There is an on-going disagreement in our family about potato salad. There are at least 3 different versions of this favorite dish brought to nearly every covered-dish get-together we have.

I've always claimed that my version, Judy's Potato Salad, is the one made by our grandmother when we were children. Then there is the version my sister makes that I believe she borrowed from her German friends! But the most heated discussion is over which potato salad our favorite uncle favored - his daughter's or mine. He often said mine was his favorite! I'll let you decide if mine suits YOU!

Ingredients:

5 pounds potatoes, cooked (use the variety for mashing)

3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs

¼ cup onion, chopped

½ cup celery, chopped

1 small jar pimento

¾ cup sweet pickle relish

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Mayonnaise

Yellow mustard

Peel and cut the potatoes into medium size pieces. Cook the potatoes in a large stew pot with enough water to cover while boiling. Drain in a colander and place potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, about 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, and about ¼ cup milk. Mix with electric mixer until potatoes are smooth.

Add chopped eggs, onion and celery. Add pimento and pickle relish. Add mayonnaise and yellow mustard to taste (approximately ½ cup mayonnaise and ¼ cup mustard). If potatoes are too watery at this point add less mayonnaise. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

I usually do the taste test and add more of any of the ingredients if I feel the salad is lacking something!

Place in serving bowl and sprinkle top with paprika. My grandmother usually boiled one or two more eggs that she sliced and used to decorate the top of her potato salad.

Cover and place in refrigerator until cold. Do not cover with aluminum foil; use plastic or glass instead. Foil will discolor eggs and possibly interact with mayonnaise.

Potatoes are easier to peel if you rinse them first with water. I learned that from my mother-in-law. It works, too!

Grandma used to use a little vinegar as well as mustard. I rarely do, but the vinegar tastes great! Another on-going joke in our family is one concerning my husband and squash relish. It is a well-known fact that he cannot stand squash and declares no one can trick him into eating the stuff. My youngest sister decided to give it a try. She and her husband usually have a garden and one year it was overrun with squash. She spent hours in the kitchen making squash relish and had our youngest granddaughter, who was about 7 years old at the time, help her. You guessed it - at the next family get-together she served her version of potato salad, told my husband after he had eaten more than his share that it had the dreaded squash relish mixed in. We've never known whether she actually put squash relish in the potato salad or not, but it certainly comes up at every meal where potato salad is served! Enjoy!

Vernelle's Baked Butternut or Acorn Squash Recipe

My mother moved to the west coast in the early 50s, married a career Air Force guy and traveled to many interesting places. We kids were always pretty jealous because we would get the postcard saying, "Wish you were here." We would love to have seen the things that were shown in full-color on the front of the postcard, but we knew in our hearts that we were safer and more loved right where we were - at home in Texas with Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa.

Anyway, I've since grown a lot, both mentally and emotionally and as an adult I've seen my share of interesting places. So, I no longer hold it against her that she saw the Statue of Liberty, the Redwood Forest, and Moammar Ghadafi up close and personal, and smuggled a memento out of Libya stuffed inside her bra!

She loved squash and when I ran across these 2 recipes for her favorite, butternut squash, I thought I would share them. She probably learned how to prepare the squash like this from a friend or neighbor while living in California or Idaho. I know we never had it at Grandma's!

Baked Butternut or Acorn Squash

Preheat oven to hot (400º F.).

Cut a butternut squash in half lengthwise, and then across into quarters; or cut acorn squash in half. Remove the seeds and fibers and brush cut surfaces with melted butter. Mother said she sometimes sprinkled cinnamon and sugar along with the butter if she had a sweet tooth! Or you can just add salt and pepper.

Place on a baking sheet, cover with aluminum foil and bake until almost tender when tested with a knife, about twenty-five minutes. Uncover, brush again with butter, and continue baking until tender and lightly browned.

Glazed Butternut Squash

1 2-pound butternut squash

½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg or ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Peel, seed and slice the squash. Place on a rack in a pot with a tight-fitting cover; add water to cover bottom of pot, cover and steam until squash is nearly tender - 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the squash well.

Preheat the oven to hot (400º F.).

Arrange the squash in one or two layers in a greased shallow baking dish. Mix sugar, spices and salt and sprinkle over the squash. Drizzle with the melted butter.

Bake until the squash is tender and somewhat glazed, 15 to 20 minutes. For a deeper glaze, place under the broiler for a few minutes.

Also published by Judy Shubert at Associated Content.