The recent recipes for Virginia Huxtable’s famous fruit crisp with blueberries (original and revised versions) have caused quite a stir. In fact, Forum cooks are still talking about this dessert.
Tulalip reader Jeanne Ingersoll tells us, “I was Virginia’s next-door neighbor in the early 1950s, and have been making her original fruit crisp recipe for over 50 years, and have never had a problem with it.
“I read in the paper that some people have had problems. I believe their problem may be that they are ‘pouring’ the oil over the topping instead of ‘drizzling’ the oil, as her recipe calls for them to do. It is the only thing I can think of that would make a difference.”
And Suzanne D. Fenimore writes, “I love Virginia Huxtable’s recipe for blueberry crisp. So far, I have made it with blueberries, blackberries and peaches. I haven’t had trouble with the topping – just spread it on and then drizzle the oil over. I do decrease the sugar amounts by about half and the oil by a little bit since I don’t need the extra calories, and it tastes very good.
“I even made it with Splenda once when we had a diabetic friend over for dinner, and it was good that way, too.
“I’m sure this recipe tastes even better with ALL the sugar and oil, but that just wouldn’t be good for me. Next time, I may try adding some of the oil to the dry ingredients and then drizzling the rest on top. Thanks to Virginia’s family for sharing this. I’ve shared it with several friends, and they say they’ll never make crisp topping any other way!”
And another subject that’s on everybody’s lips is a certain salad. When Camano Island cook Jill Beach originally shared her recipe for San Diego pink salad (in the Aug. 18 Forum), she said, “I can’t remember how I acquired this now infamous recipe, but I am almost sure that one of the guys invented it – by skipping a few steps of his mom’s molded gelatin salad recipe.”
Next, Sue Schultz of Camano Island told us she ran across the recipe at a Tupperware party in the late 1970s, “where the salad was called Yellow Servalier Salad because all the ingredients could be dumped into that particular Tupperware item, enclosed with the lid, shaken well, and be set by the time you arrived at the party.”
Now, Dee Peterson of Everett says, “I have the recipe for Jill Beach’s San Diego pink salad, only mine uses orange gelatin, and is it ever delicious! I call it creamsicle salad!”
And Marysville cook Dianne Berst says the “pink salad” is very similar to “one I have known as in-a-minute salad for many years.” She adds, “About 35 years ago, faithful Forum reader Jolene Gladsjo of Lynnwood gave me a pretty metal file box with neatly typed recipes. In-a-minute salad was one of the recipes.
“Jolene and I met at Western when we were going to college, and Jolene was roller skating in the halls of the girls’ residence hall. Since Jolene was an English major, I asked her to proofread my first cookbook a few years ago. When I went to pick up the manuscript, she was quickly copying the recipe for tartar sauce. I reminded her that she had given me that recipe in the file box so many years ago, and we had a good laugh – as good friends always do.”
The next Forum will appear in Monday’s Time Out section.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
