You Asked For it: Baking pork chops the Down East way

By ANNE LONG
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 15, 2002

Joyce Langdon asked for a recipe for pork chops covered with milk and then baked. Margaret Dodge found the recipe in Cooking Down East and sends it.

J. King uses Yukon Gold potatoes and sliced onions with her pork chops.

You can prepare both recipes for any number of servings, adjusting the amounts to suit.

Combine ground beef, onion, green pepper, spaghetti sauce. Mix margarine, eggs and Parmesan cheese with cooked spaghetti. Spoon pasta mixture into baking pan. Cover with cottage cheese, then meat mixture.

Baked spaghetti is a perfect dish for a covered-dish affair, or make it in the morning if the day is going to be a busy one.

Chicken Marsala is an elegant dish that is not difficult to prepare. The calorie and fat content is relatively low, an added bonus.

Nora Albaugh enjoyed this honey mustard dressing on a salad at the Mission Inn in Howey-in-the-Hills many years ago.

That was before honey mustard dressing became so popular and it is still a favorite of Nora's.

Mickie Craig's honey mustard dressing is another version. Mickie always gets requests for the recipe from guests.

For: Joyce Langdon of Clearwater.

From: Margaret Dodge of St. Petersburg.

Recipe: Baked Pork Chops from Cooking Down East by Marjorie Standish, 1968.

Baked Pork Chops

Have pork chops cut about three-quarters of an inch thick. Dry with paper towel and place in baking pan. Using the back of a teaspoon, spread the top of each chop with dry mustard. Pour milk into the pan until it comes to the top of the chops.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1-1/2 hours. If chops are thinner, only 1-1/4 hours will be needed.

From: J. King of Hudson.

Recipe: Baked Pork Chops and Potatoes.

Baked Pork Chops and Potatoes

• 4 to 6 pork chops (bone in, not boneless)
• Yukon Gold potatoes
• Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
• 1 to 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup milk (or more)
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (optional)

Slice enough potatoes to make a 2-inch layer in baking pan. Season with salt and pepper. Place chops on top, season and cover with onions. Sprinkle with more pepper. Pour milk into pan and bake at 350 degrees until chops are tender, taking care not to let them dry out. Add more milk if needed.

Note: For more variety, add a can of cream of mushroom soup before baking.

For: Mary Cenetto of Spring Hill.

From: Lois Eggert of Mansfield, Ohio.

Recipe: Spaghetti Casserole.

Spaghetti Casserole

• 3/4 to 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 15-ounce jar spaghetti sauce with meat
• 6 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 well-beaten eggs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese (ricotta cheese even better)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Saute ground beef, onion and green pepper; drain well. Stir in spaghetti sauce.

Cook spaghetti and drain. Stir in margarine and salt. Beat eggs; add Parmesan cheese and mix with cooked spaghetti. Place in greased 9-inch square pan. Spread cottage cheese (or ricotta) over spaghetti. Pour meat mixture over cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. During last 5 or 10 minutes, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Return to oven until cheese is melted. Serves 6.

For: Charlotte Kartsonis of New Port Richey.

From: Sally Blum of North Redington Beach.

Recipe: Chicken Marsala.

Chicken Marsala

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon each vegetable oil and butter
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Pound chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into serving pieces. Heat oil and butter in frying pan. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove from pan.

Add garlic to pan; saute briefly. Mix tomato paste with wines. Add to pan with mushrooms. Stir to blend with pan juices. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes.

Return cutlets to pan and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.

Note: Sally adds that this recipe can also be used with pork tenderloin cut into cutlets.

For: Betty Brockway of St. Petersburg.

From: Nora Albaugh of St. Petersburg.

Recipe: Mission Inn Honey Mustard Dressing.

Mission Inn Honey Mustard Dressing

• 1/2 cup prepared mustard
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• Worcestershire sauce to taste
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• 21/2 ounces brown sugar
• 5 ounces honey
• Poppy seeds to taste (about 1/4 cup)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 ounces diced onion

Blend all ingredients together. Refrigerate. Makes 1 pint.

From: Mickie Craig of Dunnellon.

Recipe: Honey Mustard Dressing.

Honey Mustard Dressing

• 1-1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (not olive oil)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Pinch of salt

Put all ingredients in a blender and process until combined. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Makes about 21/4 cups.

Missing recipes

These recipes were omitted from last week's You Asked For It column.

From: Marilyn Kelly of Clearwater

Recipes: Cream Cheese Icing and Butter Cream Frosting

Cream Cheese Icing

• 1 stick butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1-pound box confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla; beat well. Add nuts. Frost cake. Refrigerate.

Butter Cream Frosting

• 1 1-pound box confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• Red food coloring

Blend confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla and heavy cream with mixer until smooth and fluffy. Additional cream may be needed to achieve fluffy consistency. Tint coconut with red food coloring and sprinkle over top. Refrigerate.

Recipe requests

Don Gordon of St. Petersburg has been trying to find a good guacamole recipe for at least five years, but has not been successful. Do you have a favorite recipe to share?

When Carol Kaylor of Ocala was growing up in St. Petersburg, Olson's Drive In on Fourth Street North served a fantastic pizza burger.

When Carol married and moved to Clearwater in the 1970s, she drove to St. Petersburg just for that burger.

The restaurant is long gone, but Carol has never forgotten the pizza burger and would dearly love to have the recipe.

Les Harris of St. Petersburg had a great recipe for blueberry pound cake or blueberry cake about 17 years ago, but the recipe disappeared in moving.

Les would be grateful for a replacement for his lost recipe.

Red hot jelly is made from red hot candy. The recipe for this pretty and flavorful jelly has been misplaced by Mary Markland of Spring Hill.

Mary hopes a reader has the recipe filed away (and so does her daughter).

Joan Ciquera of Beverly Hills has searched for the recipe for chicken Florentina, but has had no luck. Chicken cutlet is served with a white sauce that includes chopped carrots and celery.

- You Asked for It is a reader mail column. If you have a cooking question or the answer to someone else's question, write to: You Asked for It, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Be sure to include your full name, city and phone number with your letter. Letters without this information will be discarded. Requests cannot be answered by phone or mail.

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