Marguerites Cookbook

A cooking blog all about making vintage recipes from a cookbook we inherited from our grandmother

Frank Tidbits

frank tidbit header

This week on Marguerite’s Cookbook we have another appetizer perfect for any parties this upcoming holiday season. If you remember, a few weeks ago we showed you a very simple cheese log recipe as a starter appetizer. Now we’ll show you a frank tidbits recipe that is a nice twist between mini corn dogs and pigs in a blanket.

Frank Tidbits

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

Frank Tidbits Recipe

Marguerite had a deep fryer that she would make recipes in, and this is one of them. However, we don’t have a deep fryer, so we had to do it a different way. This was a very simple recipe, even though we hadn’t fried anything in oil before. We we’re both super nervous about having an open pan of oil on our stove and had a lid ready to smother any fire. Aaron didn’t realize what temperature the oil had to be at in order to brown the frank tidbits, and the first one blackened immediately. Once he turned the temperature down and the oil cooled a bit, it was smooth sailing from there. And no fires occurred!

Frank Tidbits Appetizer

The mustard was also very simple to mix together and heat, making the entirety of this appetizer quick and easy. These frank tidbits were tasty! The mixture of corn muffin mix and chili powder made for a great flavor combo. Aaron accidentally read “margarine” as “mayonnaise.” So our mustard was a little different. Honestly, you couldn’t taste the accidental mayo and the mustard was still delicious. It reminded Aaron a bit like the homemade sauce his mom makes with her cocktail meatballs. The mustard also was a fantastic color!

Frank Hot Dog Tidbits

This frank tidbit recipe was fun and different and we enjoyed making it. These appetizers are definitely best served hot and right away, so if you want to give them a try this holiday season, plan on putting them out not long after you’ve made them. We made way too many to eat in one sitting and they were a little soggy when we reheated them.

Hotdog Frank Tidbits

Frank Tidbits
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
48 pieces 15 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
48 pieces 15 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Frank Tidbits
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
48 pieces 15 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
48 pieces 15 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
Franks
Mustard
Servings: pieces
Instructions
Franks
  1. Cut hot dogs in six pieces.
  2. Combine corn muffin mix, chili powder, and milk. Mix well.
  3. Add hot dogs, stirring to coat well.
  4. Drop one at a time from tablespoon into hot vegetable oil.
  5. Cook till lightly browned.
Mustard
  1. Stir all ingredients together. Heat until hot and bubbly.
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Breaded Veal Cutlets

Breaded Veal Cutlets

As far as easy dinners go, these veal cutlets definitely make the list.

In an attempt to be real adults, we’re always on the lookout for “real” food to make for dinner. By real food we mean basically anything that isn’t EasyMac. This veal recipe is one to add to our regular dinner rotation and not just as part of our adventure in cooking through Marguerite’s book. Few ingredients, lots of flavor, and a quick prep time equate to a perfect meal for us and this veal brings it.

Veal Cutlets

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

IMG_0262

Another reason we love this recipe is because it could be very easy to try with other kinds of meats. Veal is pricey and we usually have other meats in our freezer for everyday use. Basically any kind of beef cut would compliment this recipe well, as well as chicken. Pork perhaps? We’ll have to try a few and report back.

Veal Cutlet Recipe

The preparation of the meat was very simple, which is a huge factor for us when making dinner every night. It was also super flavorful, despite the meat being a little tough. That, of course, had to do with the meat we selected, and not the recipe itself.  All-in-all, another success!

Breaded Veal

The only issue we ran into with this dish was actually finding veal cutlets. Hence why the meat we picked was so tough. We went to 3 grocery stores before we found anything, and even then the selection was not so fabulous. So if anyone is aware of a good butcher in the Chicago area, let us know!

 

Breaded Veal Cutlets

 

Breaded Veal Cutlets
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 People 10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hr 15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 People 10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hr 15 minutes
Breaded Veal Cutlets
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 People 10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hr 15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 People 10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hr 15 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: People
Instructions
  1. Salt and pepper veal to taste.
  2. Dip in skim milk then dip in break crumbs.
  3. Grease baking dish well with margarine and place veal in dish.
  4. Grease skillet well with margarine.
  5. Stew tomatoes with onion flakes, sugar, salt, pepper, and margarine.
  6. Put over veal and back for one hour and 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Cover tightly.
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Cranberry Cherry Pie

Cranberry Cherry Pie

This Cranberry Cherry Pie is the perfect pairing to any Thanksgiving dinner. We made this recipe twice: the first time for Aaron’s family on Thanksgiving and the second time just for the two of us to enjoy.

Cranberry Cherry Pie

This will also be the first of many dessert recipes here on Marguerite’s Cookbook.  Dessert recipes were the most popular in Marguerite’s collection and the cookbook is about 50% desserts. Her pies were one of the best desserts to have, because she was so good at hand making pie crust.  For as long as Aaron can remember, his mother and other members of their family always talked about how no one could make pie crust like Marguerite.  When Marguerite tried to teach Aaron’s mom how to perfect the pie crust, the main advice she gave was “touch the dough as little as possible.”

Here is what the original recipe said:

Cranberry Cherry Pie Original

First to tackle was the crust itself, the previously mentioned hardest part.  Marguerite used a standard Crisco pie crust recipe, which we have included below.  When we made it the first time for Thankgiving, the family commented that the cranberry and cherry filling, along with the topping, tasted delicious.  Aaron’s mom, who was the best one to judge the crust, said that while it was good, it was not as soft and flakey as Marguerite’s.

Darn.

We attributed this to over handling the crust, as well as not putting enough water in it.  We also over baked the pie because there were no baking instructions on Marguerite’s recipe.  We were determined to get it right, so we tried it again.

Cranberry Cherry Pie

Despite being advised to, we didn’t chill the Crisco the second time. This seemed to make it much easier to play with the crust less. More water was also added.

In both attempts we omitted the Tapioca pudding from her recipe because neither of us care for it and we decided that it wouldn’t negatively affect the recipe to skip it.

Slice of Cranberry Cherry Pie

The other challenge with this recipe: Marguerite left no instructions on how long to bake the pie and at what temperature! For the first attempt we baked it for too long.  The second time turned out much better!

Cranberry Cherry pie and slice

I’m not a huge fan of pie, so I only sampled a small amount. Not the worst pie I’ve ever tried though.

Aaron loved it, despite not being a huge fan of cranberries.

Slice of PieWe hope you attempt this recipe for your next holiday to share with your family!

 

Cranberry Cherry Pie
Cranberry Cherry pie and slice
Cranberry Cherry Pie
Print Recipe
A berry pie recipe with a crumble topping
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Cranberry Cherry pie and slice
Cranberry Cherry Pie
Print Recipe
A berry pie recipe with a crumble topping
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Ingredients
Crust
Pie Filling
Topping
Servings: Pie
Instructions
Crust
  1. Blend flour and salt in large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture using pastry blender or fork. Stir in just enough water with fork until dough holds together.
  2. TIP Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
  3. Shape dough into a ball. Flatten ball into a 1/2 inch round disk.
  4. Chill for 30 minutes or up to two days.
  5. Roll dough from center outward into a circle 2-inches wider than pie plate on lightly floured surface. Transfer dough to pie plate.
Filling and Topping
  1. Mix the cherry pie filling, cranberry sauce, sugar, and lemon juice.
  2. Pour the filling mixture into the crust.
  3. Dot with margarine
  4. Mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, and margarine for the topping with a blender.
  5. Sprinkle the topping on top of the pie.
  6. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes
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