Beulah Jane

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Welcome to Beulah Jane!

Published on September 14, 2019September 14, 2019 by Ramona Hatch1 Comment

We are Dusty and Ramona Hatch, your hosts for a culinary journey through our mothers’ recipe collections!

We’ve been toying with the idea of creating this cooking blog for some time and we’re very excited that it’s finally happening! We are so blessed to have inherited two huge recipe collections, one from each of our mothers! We thought that sharing the best of those recipe collections with people who appreciate preparing and savoring good food would be a fitting tribute to these two amazing women! Thus our Beulah Jane blog was born and our culinary journey begun! We’re so pleased that you’ve chosen to join us!

Meet our Moms, Beulah and Jane

Beulah Watts Marlow
Jane Smith Hatch Krueger

Before we jump into sharing our first recipes, it seems appropriate that we give you some background on our blog’s namesakes. Beulah (my mom) and Jane (Dusty’s mom) lived, worked and raised their families at opposite ends of our home state of Illinois. Though they spent their lives hundreds of miles apart geographically, they shared many traits, interests and even work experience.

Moms who worked outside the home were not nearly as commonplace when Dusty and I were growing up, yet both of our moms went to work when we were pretty young. Interestingly enough, both Beulah and Jane worked as cooks in the elementary school cafeterias where their children attended. They also shared an appreciation for Blue Willow china. We’ve incorporated that traditional dinnerware pattern as part of the theme for Beulah Jane, for that reason.

Both Beulah and Jane were very adventurous cooks, collecting countless recipes for everything from appetizers to desserts. Because the recipes were gleaned from a myriad of sources–newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, friends, family–the process of merging and organizing the two recipe collections was like stepping back in time. Because most of the recipes are handwritten, the experience was deeply personal and emotional.

As we categorized and grouped the recipes, it was easy to identify the most treasured and trusted recipes. They’re the recipes that bear the food spatters and splotches of frequent use, testifying to their popularity with both cook and diners. Those are the recipes that you can expect to see shared on this blog.

Chocolate Eclairs

Published on September 14, 2019September 18, 2019 by Ramona HatchLeave a comment

These chocolate eclairs are one of Dusty’s absolute favorite desserts! In fact, he’s so fond of them that Jane, my soon-to-be mother-in-law shared this recipe before Dusty and I were married. She told me that she wanted to make sure that her son would always be able to enjoy these tender, tasty pastries! Don’t let the length of the recipe intimidate you! I promise that they’re really easy to make!

Chocolate Eclairs

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Eclair Filling

2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Eclair Frosting

1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons boiling water

Heat water and butter to rolling boil. Add flour to water and butter. Beat vigorously by hand over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, add eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth. Shape into fingers 4 inches long and 1 inch wide on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Bake in 400 degrees oven 45 – 50 minutes. Cool and cut open. Scrape out excess dough and fill with custard. To make custard filling, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat until it thickens and boils. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Gradually stir at least half of hot mixture into egg yolks. Then quickly blend into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Cool. For frosting, in a microwave, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Stir in sugar and enough hot water to achieve a smooth consistency. Cool slightly. Frost eclairs.

Yield: 9 eclairs

Cherry Wink Cookies

Published on September 14, 2019September 18, 2019 by Ramona HatchLeave a comment

As a kid, this was my very favorite cookie! I could never understand why my mother made them so infrequently until I made them myself! The recipe isn’t difficult, but there are a lot of steps in the process. The effort is so worth it, I guarantee it!

Cherry Winks

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans
⅓ cup chopped maraschino cherries

2 ½ cups cornflakes, crushed
maraschino cherries cut into fourths

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl; set aside. In large mixing bowl cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and blend thoroughly. Add milk and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add sifted dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in chopped pecans and maraschino cherries. Using one level tablespoon of dough at a time, shape into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball of dough in crushed cornflakes. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Top each cookie with ¼ of a maraschino cherry; press slightly into top of cookie. Bake at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown and set.

Yield: 54 cookies