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Seek, and she shall find
By JANET K. KEELER © St. Petersburg Times, published February 21, 2001
Each envelope, nearly all addressed by hand, holds promise. As she slits open the flaps, bits of family histories tumble out. The stories often start something like this: "Does someone have a recipe for a layered noodle dish? It has ground beef and green peppers, I think. My mother used to make it when I was young, but the recipe was never written down. I would love to have it again." Maybe the envelope brings good news for another reader looking for a favorite taste from long-ago days in Brooklyn: "I know that bakery in New York, and here is its recipe for black and white cookies. My family used to go there when I was a child in the '50s." For 25 years this month, Long has opened your mail, read your stories and helped find long-lost recipes as the writer of the food section's You Asked for It column, a reader swap shop. The column is among the oldest in the Times and was already about 20 years old in 1976 when then-food editor Ruth Gray asked Long to take it over. She said yes and says she has never regretted it despite the stack of mail she plows through regularly. She gets an average of 50 letters a week. "I love hearing from readers who want old family recipes that were never written down," she says. "We have such a melting pot of cooks here from so many ethnic backgrounds that I almost always get the recipes. We've been stumped very few times." (Requests for Swedish yogurt starter and French creams from a specific patisserie up north went unfulfilled.) The column's premise is simple: Readers send in their requests for recipes, and other readers look through their collections to find them. Long acts as the clearinghouse, making sure the recipes are correct and that they will appeal to the general readership of the section. She has a collection of more than 1,000 cookbooks to use for reference. The column has earned the loyalty of many Times readers. When recently, because of space limitations, the column did not appear for several weeks, concerned readers called to voice their displeasure. We assured them that the column would return soon. Readers who want quick results learn to be patient. With the volume of mail and enough space to publish only about four recipes a week, the backlog is tremendous. Long addresses readers' solicitations and responses on a first-come, first-served basis; she aims to print every request. She has a detailed system to log in requests and recipes; her files are impeccable. She reminds visitors that she was a math major in college and likes things orderly. In the years she's been writing You Asked for It, Long has watched her children grow up and learned the joys of being a grandmother and the heartbreak of being widowed after 41 years of marriage. She knows life's milestones have also been marked by her readers, whom she considers friends. "I know their handwriting, I know who they are before I open the envelope," Long says of regular writers, "then suddenly I don't hear anymore, and I worry about them, and I'll never know what happens to some of them." The purpose of the column, she says, is to educate the "cooking community" and is not really a service for individual readers, though that certainly is one of the byproducts. The column triggers trip wires of memory about food eaten long ago. It's a homage to comfort food, she says. Long communicates simply in her column so that all levels of cooks can use the recipes. "I'm writing as if I'm a young bride and hardly know how to turn on the oven dial," she says. Long marvels at some of the responses she gets to recipe requests. Someone once wrote for a confection served at a Norwegian bakery in Chicago, and she heard from four people who knew the bakery and had a recipe. The most response she has ever received was 175 recipes for Buckeye Balls, a peanut butter-chocolate sweet. "Everyone who ever lived in Ohio, ever drove through the state or went to Ohio State wrote in," she says, the ever-present smile widening even more across her face. She remembers handing a letter opener to husband Ray to help get through the massive stack. Long is an accomplished self-taught cook who loves to prepare party food, mostly brunch dishes. That wasn't always so. "I wasn't Mrs. Van Winkle's star student," she says of her fledgling efforts in eighth-grade home ec in her native Louisville, Ky. Over the years, though, she has mastered the kitchen and also the sewing machine. She's a competent quilter and has an impressive supply of materials in her St. Petersburg home and her summertime place in North Carolina. She grows orchids and bromeliads on her sunny back porch and is involved with Clan Munro USA, a group of people who trace their roots to the Scottish clan. Though her schedule seems to be busy as ever now that she's "retired," Long says she'll find time for You Asked for It as long as readers find the time to write. "I'm always learning something new," she says. "I find recipes that I use. People really do share their best efforts." Advice from the columnistAnne Long receives a large volume of submissions for her weekly recipe exchange column, You Asked for It. It is important that readers follow simple guidelines to ensure that their requests and recipes are published. Remember, with so many requests coming in, the columnist may not have a lot of time to spend tracking down missing information. Here are tips for success: Include a daytime phone number. The number is not printed in the paper but is needed in case Long has a question about your submission. Include your given name. Some women send in only their married names: Mrs. John Smith. The Times policy is to publish given names such as Mary Smith. Make sure recipes are complete and correct. If multiple recipes are sent in for one request, those that are missing ingredients or instructions are discarded. The instructions always appear at the bottom of the column. When you see a recipe in the newspaper you like, save it! If you can, copy it a few times and put the copies in a safe place. It is often difficult to find old recipes, especially those published five, 10 or 20 years ago. Buckeye Balls
Cream butter and peanut butter together and beat in sugar and vanilla. Shape into small balls and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Melt chocolate and paraffin together in a double boiler. Dip peanut butter balls into chocolate with toothpick, covering all but a small circle. Let cool on wax paper. Yield: 40 balls. Source: Junior League of Toledo, Ohio. Philly Topped Cranberry Salad(Pastors Wives Cookbook)
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add other ingredients; mix well. Pour into mold and chill until firm. Topping:
Beat together and spread (or spoon) on top of salad. Source: Anne Long. Jean's Favorite Chicken Casserole(Mountain Elegance)
Combine stuffing, margarine and broth. Put half in a shallow, buttered 2-quart casserole. Combine chicken, onion, celery and mayonnaise; spread over stuffing. Top with remaining stuffing mixture. Beat eggs and milk; pour over stuffing. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Remove 1 hour before baking and spread mushroom soup on top. Bake at 325 degrees about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese and paprika; bake 10 minutes longer. Serves 8 generously. Source: Anne Long. Persian Rice Pilaf
Saute rice and onion in 1/4 cup butter until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add salt, water, bouillon cubes and raisins. Cover; reduce heat and cook until rice is tender, 20-25 minutes. In a small pan melt 2 tablespoons butter; saute pecans 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle over rice just before serving. Source: Gourmet Gallery Cookbook, Museum of Fine Arts.
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