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Just The Time To Put A Little South Carolina In Your Mouth

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By JEFF HOUCK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 20, 2008

Three weeks ago, Judy Ballenger of Westminster, S.C., wrote to say that she read this column while she was in town recently and wanted to share recipes she had from a church cookbook for Pickled Okra Ham Rolls and Banana Split Cake.

Ruth D. Huff of Sebring wrote to ask if it was safe to use two raw eggs in the recipe for no-bake cake. Lounett Edwards and Jean Proudfit of Tampa had the same concerns. Isabel M. Colby of Tampa wrote to ask the name of the cookbook Ballenger's recipes came from.

I e-mailed Ballenger in South Carolina. She replied that she was back in Tampa last week and saw the mention of her recipes in the Flavor section. "I also made our little hometown paper saying I was in Tampa," she wrote. "Do those two articles in the same week make me famous? (Just joking.)"
Ballenger says she went to church early Sunday morning the day after she got home and then started making pickles.

"I put up 29 pints of pickled okra," she says. "So far this summer I have canned 211 jars of produce. I hunted jars while I was in Florida for my niece and was told that the canning season was over there. I did find them at Publix."

To answer the two reader questions, Ballenger says you don't have to cook the eggs in the banana split cake. "If you prefer not to have raw eggs in the cake, just leave them out," she says. "I have a friend who makes it with no eggs. I don't think you would miss them."

The answer to the second question: The name of the book is "By His Hand We Shall Be Fed." The front cover is a color photo of the stained-glass window in Ballenger's 150-plus member church in Walhalla, S.C.

To get a copy of the book, mail $24 to: Julia Ballenger, 200 Walhalla St., Westminster, S.C. 29693. The first edition of the book paid for refurbishing the church's stained-glass window. Profits from an upcoming second edition will go toward a kitchen fund.

Crouton Rescue

Diana Boggs of Tampa has been searching for a Ruby Tuesday's crouton recipe for ages.

Arlette Green of Brooksville, who has been making her own croutons for 20 years, shares a recipe she says she got from a Ruby's chef in Durham, N.C.

Carolyn Bosse of Plant City didn't have the restaurant's version, so she sent along her favorite crouton recipe.

Bosse cut the recipe from a magazine 20 years ago and has never switched. "They are so good that they're usually half gone by the time I make a salad!" she writes. "Although it is not an original recipe, my maiden name was Steele, so I like to claim it."

Bosse uses Italian bread but thinks that if dark bread is substituted, maybe they will taste like Ruby Tuesday's version.

Recipe Requests

Bosse says she would love to get the recipe for Spaghetti Warehouse's lasagna.

Joyce Downs of Brandon would like the recipe for the pineapple coconut sauce that Red Lobster serves with its shrimp.

Leftover Requests

Elizabeth Walker of Sebring still wants a refrigerated pie recipe that uses crushed Brazil nuts for crust, regular meringue and creamy custard filling flavored with vanilla rum.

Kathy Nugent is searching for a pancake recipe from Pach's Place on Bay to Bay Boulevard in Tampa.

R.T.'S CROUTONS

2 cups bread, cubed (multigrain or pumpernickel)

1/4 cup olive oil

Garlic powder and salt to taste

Put bread cubes in a pan with hot oil and allow to brown until crispy. Sprinkle garlic powder and salt. Turn off heat and stir well until all garlic and salt are evenly distributed. Remove on heat and spread on paper towels to cool.

STEELE'S CROUTONS

8 tablespoons butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

10 slices Italian-style bread, cut 1/2-inch thick

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine melted butter and garlic powder. Brush on both sides of bread. Trim crusts if desired. Cut bread into 1/2 -inch cubes. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet. Place on middle oven rack and bake 20 to 30 minutes, turning and stirring twice, until dried and lightly browned. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese while hot. Store in glass jar.

Looking for a recipe? Write to Jeff Houck, The Tampa Tribune, P.O. Box 191, Tampa FL 33601; or e-mail jhouck@tampatrib .com. Recipes are not tested. Keyword: Recipes, for more recipes and to see our online archive.

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