Old-Fashioned Cream-of-Tomato Soup

Vanilla Butter Cake

Seven-Minute Frosting
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Pan-Fried Porterhouse with Mushrooms

Makes 2 to 3 servings

When Mark Twain toured Europe in 1878, he complained bitterly about the food. One of the favorites marked on his list of foods to be ready and hot when he arrived at home was a porterhouse steak, pan-fried, with mushrooms.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dried leaf tarragon
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 (1-1/2-inch-thick) porterhouse steak (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


In a skillet or frying pan, heat 1/2 cup butter. Add mushrooms. Sauté over medium heat 5 minutes. Add tarragon and cream. Simmer over low heat until sauce has thickened slightly. Score fat on steak so it will not curl during cooking. Place 1 tablespoon butter and steak in another heavy skillet. Cook steak over high heat 5 minutes on each side for rare meat. Or, cook longer according to your taste. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with creamed mushrooms.

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Old-Fashioned Cream-of-Tomato Soup

Makes 4 to 6 servings

In season, there's nothing like a creamy tomato soup made from fresh tomatoes! In season, also, if you have enough tomatoes to make a pot of soup, country cooks often have enough tomatoes to can for wintertime enjoyment. One of my favorite ways to use home-canned tomatoes is in this simple, creamy soup.

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 quart peeled, chopped, fresh tomatoes, or 1 quart home-canned tomatoes, or 1 (28-ounce) can Italian-style tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 pint whipping cream (1 cup)
Celery leaf

VARIATION: Substitute yellow tomatoes for red tomatoes

In a large saucepan, heat butter. Add onion. Sauté 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in milk. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Add tomatoes with juice. Simmer 10 minutes. Turn mixture into a blender or food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until fairly smooth. Return soup to pan. Add thyme, basil, salt and pepper. Stir in cream. Heat to serving temperature. Serve hot garnished with a celery leaf.

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Vanilla Butter Cake

Makes 2 (8- or 9- inch) layers or 1 8-inch-square) cake.

Basic butter cake is a variation of the original 1-2-3-4 cake which followed the formula, 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs. This combination made a heavy cake. Today, baking powder and milk are added to the mixture to make a moister, lighter cake. This is a simple variation of the original cake.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 round, 8- or 9-inch, cake pans, or 1 (8-inch-square) pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, butter, and sugar. Mix until blended. Add vanilla, eggs and milk. Mix at high speed or by hand, scraping sides of bowl with a spatula, until batter is smooth. Turn into greased pan or pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes for round cakes, 40 to 45 minutes for square cake, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a rack before frosting.

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Seven-Minute Frosting

Makes about 2-1/2 cups or enough for a 2-layer cake.

This is a favorite for a layer cake.

1 egg white
3 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar
Dash of salt

In the top of a double boiler, combine all ingredients. Stir to blend. Set aside 15 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Place over boiled water and beat at high speed with a hand electric mixer until mixture stands in peaks. This will take about 7 miutes. Remove from heat and stir.

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