You Asked For It: And Ike liked tomato pudding

By ANNE LONG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 22, 2001

Donna White asked for the recipe for tomato pudding made with tomato sauce and bread cubes. If we remember correctly, this was a favorite dish of President Eisenhower.

Tomato pudding is an old-fashioned side dish that has stood the test of time. Alice Simmers writes that her recipe was made famous in Toledo 40 or 50 years ago when it was always served as a side dish at a wonderful tearoom called the Tally-Ho. If you are fortunate enough to have homemade tomato puree, Pat Bowman's recipe is a good opportunity to use it.

Victoria Smith shares her recipe for pumpkin pancakes as served at the Snowvillage Inn in New Hampshire. This would be a delightful breakfast dish in the fall or any time, actually. Guests would be quite impressed.

It doesn't take much to heat up the kitchen in the summer. These unbaked oatmeal cookies satisfy the need to bake without turning on the oven. Florence Showers notes that a friend shared the recipe when Florence's daughters were teenagers, and it is still a family favorite 30 years later. The combination of cocoa, peanut butter and oatmeal is a winner.

Honey mustard salad dressing has been a popular one for a number of years, but it is not easy to find a recipe. Thanks to Wanda Randol for sharing hers.

For: Donna White of Pinellas Park.

From: Alice Simmers of South Pasadena.

Recipe: Tomato Pudding, from the Tally-Ho tearoom in Toledo 40 or 50 years ago.

Tomato Pudding

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 101/2-ounce can tomato puree
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 cups torn or cubed white bread
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (1 stick)

Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan and boil together for 5 minutes, stirring often. Put torn or cubed bread in a buttered 11/2-quart casserole. Pour melted butter over bread. Pour boiling tomato mixture over the bread. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Recipe may be doubled and baked in a 9- by 12-inch pan for an additional 15-20 minutes until the pudding puffs and starts to brown on the edges.

From: Pat Bowman of Tampa.

Recipe: Tomato pudding with homemade puree.

Tomato Pudding (With Homemade Puree)

• 1 cup homemade tomato puree
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh bread, cut in 1-inch squares
• 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

Combine puree, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan and cook 5 minutes. Butter a 11/2-quart casserole and spread bread cubes evenly over bottom. Pour melted butter over bread cubes, then pour hot puree over entire mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Option: Add 1/2 teaspoon dried basil and a dash of ground nutmeg to hot puree.

For: Charles Bodine of Brooksville and Ona Sandifer of Tampa.

From: Victoria Smith of Palm Harbor.

Recipe: Snowvillage Inn, New Hampshire, pumpkin pancakes.

Snowvillage Inn Pumpkin Pancakes

• 11/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons double-acting baking powder
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 11/2 cups canned evaporated milk
• 1 cup solid-pack canned pumpkin
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup bacon drippings

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Stir in the milk, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla and bacon drippings. Stir the batter until it is well-mixed.

Preheat a greased griddle or skillet over moderate heat until drops of water scatter over the surface. Pour the batter onto the griddle by 1/3 cupfuls. Cook the pancakes for 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden and cooked through. Yield: 16 pancakes. Serve with maple syrup, honey or fruit.

For: Betty Ferguson of St. Petersburg.

From: Florence Showers of South Pasadena.

Recipe: Gold cookies, also known as Turkish confections, a favorite unbaked oatmeal cookie recipe for more than 30 years.

Gold Cookies or Turkish Confections

• (Unbaked Oatmeal Cookies)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 pound butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick oatmeal (NOT instant)

Combine sugar, cocoa and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Mix well and drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let cool and enjoy.

For: Carole Carson of Treasure Island and Mary Ann Stokes of St. Petersburg.

From: Wanda Randol of Holiday.

Recipe: Honey mustard salad dressing.

Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 ounces honey
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup salad oil
• 3/4 ounce dry mustard
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of MSG (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Very small amount of finely chopped onion

Blend mayonnaise, mustard and honey. Add oil slowly. Add remaining ingredients. Blend well and chill before serving.

Reader requests

It is not too early to start thinking about Christmas recipes. Cyrena Young of Pinellas Park had a fruitcake recipe that was "out of this world." It called for a pound of butter and stayed yellow. The fruitcake was baked in an angel food tube pan at 200 degrees for 4 hours without opening the oven door. Cyrena has searched and searched for the recipe, and you are her "last resort."

Judy Bice of Dunedin would like to have a recipe for pasta e fagiole like that served at the Olive Garden Restaurant.

Angelina Austin of Clearwater is in need of a recipe for very flaky cookies that are shaped like a bow. They are sometimes called evandies, sometimes bow ties.

They are cooked with an iron that almost looks like a potato masher and may be Italian in origin. The batter is very thin, and the cookies are cooked in hot oil and then dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Besides the recipe, Angelina also wants to know where she can purchase the iron to make these delicious cookies.

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 St. Petersburg 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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