A Prune, a Toad and a Tomato Walk Into a Bar…

Stop me if you’ve heard this one! It may sound crazy, but all these things were actually on the menu in my house last week. Let me start with the least threatening ingredient of the bunch: the humble tomato. I ask you, is there anything better than flinging open the pantry door and finding everything you need to make dinner right at your fingertips?? I think not. The nearest grocery store is within literal walking distance, yet its feels like a trek across the Arctic when I just don’t want to leave the house. #14 Tomato Soup and #15 Skillet Cornbread were two special recipes that allowed me to stay in my PJ’s, yet put what appeared to be a well-planned and coordinated meal on the table. If my kitchen actually had a door, I could have closed it and completed five minutes of actual work time, then spent the rest of an hour banging pots and pretending to slave away for the benefit of my family, all while sitting with my feet kicked up and reading a trashy romance novel. (You know, if I were into that sort of thing!) Tomato soup is NOT terrible out of a can, I’ll admit, but it’s so much better when you make it from scratch. “From scratch” in this instance just means I opened other cans and bottles, like ones of diced tomatoes, tomato juice, cream and sherry. Dump it all into a pot and let it simmer away while you stir corn meal and flour into buttermilk and a beaten egg for the picture-perfect cornbread you see below. Just don’t let your spouse and kids catch on to how little effort went into this meal while they are singing your culinary praises!

While it may not take much cajoling to get your family to chow down on soup and bread, there are other offerings that take, shall we say… convincing. Or lying. Lying might actually be necessary. But hey, I’m in good company! Ree deceived her beloved husband for years while she watched him eat slice after slice of the next recipe. The issue can be explained in two words: Prune. Cake. Doesn’t that just make your taste buds jump up and dance?! No? But just as it was at the ranch in the early days of Ree’s marriage, #16 Iny’s Prune Cake became a sleeper hit in my house among fussy husbands and picky teenagers alike. Personally I am a huge fan of the prune. Seriously! They are sweet, chewy, and they have other, er, benefits! My grandmother got me on the Prune Train back when I was a kid, and I have enjoyed eating the fruit that eats like a candy ever since; however, both my daughter and The Other Half hold very strong opinions that prunes are the Devil. Which is why I planned to lie through my teeth about what was in the cake until a certain nosy man came along, poking into the pot while I was boiling the offending fruit to soften it. I was forced to confess, and he gamely agreed to try it anyway, despite his grim expression. After boiling, I mashed up the prunes and mixed them into the batter, making it sweet and moist, and a little extra texture from the skins was an added bonus. Where I failed was in making the allegedly “fool-proof” icing. I followed Ree’s directions exactly, but apparently my definition of ‘caramelly brown’ and hers differs greatly. What should have set up into an opaque, pourable frosting turned out to be more of a sugary glaze. Still, it made a dang fine cake. Fun fact: this was listed as a breakfast food, but I would definitely recommend it for dessert! And yes, it still retains the star ingredient’s… benefits!

Last but certainly not least for this week’s Recipes in Review was the infamous Egg in the Hole. Or Toad in the Hole. Or Egg Toast. Or Frog in a Hole. Or Bird’s Nest. Or One-Eyed Monster. Whatever you call it, this thing actually IS breakfast! Now, I don’t get where frogs or toads come in to cutting a hole from a piece of bread, then cracking an egg into the center and frying it in a lot of butter, but this combo just works. I thought it would be overly simplified and fall flat, but it’s… perfect. I added a twist of pepper and a sprinkle of salt, but no other adornment was necessary. The only drawback was it wasted the big circle of bread that I’d removed with a biscuit cutter, though that could have been made into a crustless sandwich if I’d been thinking. Note to my future self! I regret I didn’t know about these when my kids were little, since I think children would get a kick out them, but I must admit that adults think it’s pretty great too! Just leave the toads out of it…