Millionaire Pie and Apple Mint Chutney, or, Celia and Julia's Easter Treats

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This remembrance and recipe by our own Celia Wakefield starts in the past - Thursday, April 4th, when most of our state was without power. I got mine back by Saturday, but poor Celia went for six days without exterior power (she and Victor sensibly have a wired-in generator) and a full week without internet! Which has nothing to do with the substance of today's post, other than to show she's a trooper.

 

 

 

This may be THE bright spot of Thursday, April 4, writing to you, my dear JRW community, as we are being blanketed with snow and the power lines, internet etc have all surrendered. My bright spot is that I still have a working generator and my computer is fired up. 

 

First my thanks to Julia’s graciousness in inviting me. Any comments? Please address them to Julia, ha, ha. But we are snowbound, power denied and WiFi too. Oh we so rely on our link in the ether to the world. But for those of you writers with no power, I hope you are writing as the authors of old with pen/pencil and paper to give you that nostalgic view point.

I had big plans for what I could bring to Julia’s Easter luncheon, which would also give me a great recipe for the Sunday blog. But alas the rhubarb was covered by feet of snow etc. so that will have to wait until another time. However, Julia decided to make her favorite dessert. 

 

As many of you may know, Julia and Ross gave great parties. This was confirmed by a dear friend at Ross’s funeral who spoke eloquently saying that Ross and Julia would be counted on to be late for most things but never for a party. Aren’t those words to live? Though I was injected with the punctuality vaccine when born, and I do wonder sometimes, was punctuality a gift? Or a curse? 

However back to the Hugo-Vidal party train. This year Julia was hosting her annual Easter Luncheon which had been on a part-time hiatus over the past several years. She was kind enough to invite us and as I have access to locally raised lamb, I brought the lamb. There was a ham, scalloped potatoes, southern style sweet potatoes but without marshmallows in them, plus more asparagus than I have seen outside the supermarket and a HUGE salad made by another guest. I am sorry I didn’t take photos. 

I made apple and mint chutney to accompany the roast lamb, which I had covered with a fresh breadcrumb, garlic, herb and butter paste. I spread this mix over the large lamb leg, weighing five and a half pounds, and roasted it on 325F to an interior reading of 145 degrees in the thickest part. 

 

But the piece de resistance was Julia’s dessert. She made her southern grandmother’s recipe for Millionaire's Pie. She actually made it here in my kitchen and for once I was videographer which was fun. Julia’s grandmother would sing old Baptist hymns while mixing and Julia treated us to a few lines which she may or mayn’t share. I hope she does. (ed. note: she does.)

Now I was very interested in the Millionaire’s Pie as this is a truly American dessert and I can’t think of anything like it when I grew up. But there was one ingredient that was very popular in my family - condensed milk. Yes that small can or tin, if I’m talking, full of a creamy sugary sticky confection just asking, begging in fact, for you to grab a spoon and tuck in. At least that’s what I believed as a child  monitoring my mothers strange addiction to condensed milk. 

 

 

 

My mother was enamored, or perhaps in undying love with condensed milk. Sugar was rationed in the U.K. during the Second World War and for several years after. Coupons for sugar were guarded jealously and spent with careful consideration. So my mum and her best friend, my godmother, Auntie Winifred, would hoard their coupons and when they had enough to splurge, would buy a tin of condensed milk and sit with a spoon each taking turn and turn about until satiated. 

 

My mum's favorite afternoon snack throughout her life, was to keep a tin of condensed milk in the fridge handy for a small snack, think Winnie the Pooh size. Woe beware any of us who helped ourselves too liberally from her tin. I think that Julia’s pie would have been most popular with my mum. In fact, I wonder whether she ever tasted it when she visited the United States in the thirties. Her hostess, a close friend of my grandmother, was southern and I know they spent time in the South. I am sure she would have loved the pie as did all of us.

 

Now I can’t hand over for Julia to add the millionaires recipe without adding my recipe for easy Apple and Mint Chutney which is at the end of Julia’s delicious dessert. 

JULIA: Surprise! It's me with a recipe! As with all my faves, this is fast, easy and made with pantry (and freezer) basics. My grandmother Spencer used to make this pie when I was a kid, and it's replete with '60s no-bake goodness. You'll notice all the ingredients are straight from the Space Age kitchen; all convenience, very little nature. I think this may be the first time in her life Celia's had Cool Whip. 

 

Whether you call it Million Dollar Pie, Millionaire Pie or Millionaire's Pie, this classic southern icebox dessert will take you back to Sunday dinner at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's house - with the bonus that it still stays cool while Paw Paw goes on and on with the blessing.

INGREDIENTS

1 graham cracker crust, store-bought or homemade. Celia and I made ours, but you probably already have a recipe for this three-ingredient crust, so I'm not adding it here. If you make your own, chill for 15 minutes before adding the pie filling.

1 15.5oz can crushed pineapple, VERY well drained. If you're not a Baptist,         use the juice for a Pina Colada later.

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup sweet flaked coconut

1 cup Maraschino cherries, chopped, plus some for garnish

1/2 cup chopped pecans

5 T lemon juice - very important to help firm the pie up 

1 1/2 cup Cool Whip - this is half the usual size container

optional - 1 T cherry juice, if you want a more pink pie

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

In a large bowl, combine well the drained pineapple (as dry as you can get it,) the condensed milk, the coconut, chopped cherries and chopped pecans. Add the lemon juice (Maw Maw used the little plastic lemon for hers) and, if you prefer the color, the cherry juice. Gently fold in the Cool Whip.

Pile it in the graham cracker crust and slide it into the fridge for at least an hour. It can be made up to a day ahead. Garnish with halved pecans, and/or Maraschino cherries, or, it the pastor's coming to dinner, pipe on whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

CELIA: Apple and Mint Chutney

Chutney is usually thought of as an accompaniment to Indian foods. But in the UK it was also a way to preserve damaged or bruised fruit which was not good enough for jam or for the table. It was eaten with cold meats or in sandwiches. I love a cheese and chutney sandwich on good bread. My Constance Spry Book says “The prescription is fruit or vegetables, sugar, vinegar and flavoring ingredients . . .”, Spry also recommends using a wooden spoon to stir.  So your chutney might have garlic or ginger, and mustard seed, chilies are another favorite. The seasoning is your choice and this recipe is my choice.

Recipe makes approximately 4 Cups 

3-4# Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped 

2 large onions (I like sweet onions), peeled and chopped small

4 Cups good vinegar (I used apple cider and Braggs mixed)

1# approx brown sugar 

1Tbsp ginger

1tsp cloves

Use other spices such as nutmeg or even cardamom if preferred

1/4 Cup chopped fresh mint

• Choose a large heavy pan (not cast iron as that may react with the vinegar). I used a stainless Dutch oven with a heavy base which helps the long slow cook process. No lid needed, it’s all about the slow evaporation of the fruits and veggies
• Add the chopped onions with 2 cups of the vinegar, stir intermittently, and cook over a low heat.
• Once the vinegar is heated, add the apples with the spices (not the mint) and an additional 1 cup vinegar if needed. Cook on low, stirring often so that nothing sticks on the bottom. 
• Measure the 3/4 of the sugar into a bowl and pour 1 cup vinegar over to help melting.
• After the sugar has cooked in, taste to see if it is sweet enough. 
• Once the apples are softened add the sugar, stirring well to mix all ingredients and keeping the heat low.
• It will cook for another 2 to 3 hours to reach a consistency of jam or good yogurt. Look for the liquid to be almost completely steamed away. 
• But if you’re planning to keep the chutney for a period. (For example to give as holiday gifts). Leave the mixture with a little liquid as it does dry out over time and become more solid. 
• Also follow good practices for bottling and keep it refrigerated once opened. 

This was so easy to make I am wondering why I haven’t done it more recently. I hope you enjoy it with some delicious cold meat or in a good veggie sandwich. Or my all time fav cheese and chutney sandwiches which is very popular pub fare and forms the basis for a ploughmans lunch.

Better late than never but sometimes a string of unfortunate events gets in our way. Which is to say is it really eight weeks since Julia’s last turn at the Blog? I’m happy to announce that Joan Emerson won the copy of Ruth Reichl’s Save Me the Plums. Joan please would you email me your mailing address to wakefieldpro at gmail and I will be happy to send the book flying off to you and my apologies.

Lazy Sunday Sunday Dinner

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Once in a while, I like to do a real Sunday dinner, complete with a honking great hunk of meat and a homemade dessert. Usually when I get the urge, I'll roast a chicken or a pork loin - something I can stick in the oven, turn on the timer, and forget about until the bell rings.



Today's recipe is NOT that. It's that southern classic, Coca-Cola Ham, which requires basting every twenty minutes. I call it a lazy Sunday dinner because the best way to make it is to turn on the classical music station and camp out in the kitchen with a good book or the Sunday paper. If you buy one of the big two liter bottles, you can enjoy a little rum and Coke while cooking. Also, if you can lay hands on the Kosher-for-Passover or the Mexican Coke (both made with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup) use that instead. As good as regular Co'cola ham is, it's even better basted with the beverage that tastes like your childhood.



The recipe I prefer is from Jane and Michael Stern's Square Meals (1985), a collection of Americana recipes from the nineteen-twenties through the nineteen-sixties. I've had the book - it's as much culinary history as it is a cookbook - for thirty-one years now, and I still refer to it regularly.



COCA COLA HAM

1 10-pound precooked ham (not cured or canned.) I always get the cheapest one I can find.

6 cups Coca Cola

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 Tbls dry mustard

2 Tbls prepared sharp mustard (I've used all prepared mustard when I didn't have dry; increasing the amount to 4 tablespoons.)

2 cups fine dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 325F

Place the ham fat side down in a shallow baking pan and pour in enough Coke to fill the pan to about a half inch. Bake 2-3 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 140F, basting with the Coke ever 20 minutes.

Remove the ham from the pan and let it cool. Mix the remaining ingredients with enough Coke to make a thick paste. When you can touch the ham without yelping, trim away the rind and fat (make sure your knife is good and sharp for this!) Place the ham on a roasting rack in the pan and slather on the paste mixture. Add the rest of the Coke to the pan.

Increase oven temp to 375F and bake for another 45 minutes, basting every 10-15 minutes. The paste will turn to a delicious dark glaze. Let the ham stand for about a half hour before carving.

Yes, it takes time. But I swear the taste is worth it, and you'll have enough ham left after dinner to eat fabulous ham sandwiches the rest of the week.