Enjoy these recipes from your USI family

If you're looking for some new tasty recipes to go along with some of your annual favorites, try adding in a couple of these, provided by your extended USI family.

Karen Altstadt, Publications Associate, Creative and Print Services

Buttermilk Pie is a classic, traditional, southern custard pie in the south. Karen's grandfather always called it "larrupin'." Not familiar with the word? Urban Dictionary's definition is " description of a food so tasty it makes your tongue slap your brains out."

Buttermilk Pie

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) pie crust, unbaked
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Mix together eggs, granulated sugar, flour, butter, buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt until well-combined. Pour into the unbaked pie crust and bake for 45-50 minutes until set and golden brown.
3. Remove from the oven and allow to cool prior to slicing.
4. Store in the refrigerator.

Laura Everest, Senior Graphic Designer, Creative and Print Services

Laura often makes our day in the Publishing Services Center when she carries in a carrier full of delicious cupcakes. Here is just one of the many recipes we've been treated to.

Vanilla Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Vanilla Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 box French Vanilla cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) JELL-O Instant Pumpkin Spice pudding mix
1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon McCormick Ground Cinnamon
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Pumpkin seeds (if desired)

Instructions:

To Make Vanilla Pumpkin Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Prepare cupcake pans with cupcakes liners.
2. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, mix all cupcake ingredients, to one minute on low. Continue mixing batter for another minute on medium high. Note, batter will be very thick.
3. Bake cupcakes 20 minutes (test with toothpick).  Allow cupcakes to cool on wire rack.

To Make Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

1. In a mixing bowl, blend butter and shortening until smooth with electric mixer. Add a pinch of salt, vanilla and cinnamon. Continue mixing until well blended. Gradually add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Eventually you will have a very thick mixture. On the highest speed of your mixer, slowly pour in the heavy whipping cream.
2. Continue beating on high speed until frosting is fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes with buttercream and garnish with cinnamon and a pumpkin seed.

Chris Norrick, Assistant Director of Operations, Creative and Print Services

"Nothing sets me in a fall mood more than persimmon pudding. This recipe is just like my grandma Ninny used to make and is more of a bread than a pudding." 

"Finding wild persimmons is not that hard if you enjoy taking walks in the woods. Contrary to popular belief, they are just fine to harvest without a frost though a frost may make them a little sweeter. I pick up good looking fruit off the ground, popping the woody caps off as I go. The ones still on the tree are likely not ripe and are extremely astringent. I process them through a food mill to separate the large seeds and freeze the pulp for future use in 2-cup zip top freezer bags."

Indiana Style Persimmon Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar, white 
1 cup sugar, dark brown, packed 
2 1/4 cup Flour 
1 tablespoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon Soda 
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon allspice 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
2 cups persimmon pulp 
1 cup buttermilk 
2 eggs 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, measure all ingredients. With mixer at low speed, beat ingredients just until batter is smooth. Pour batter into two 9 x 9 inch pans; level batter with spatula. Bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream.

Kim Sullivan, Advising Associate for Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Professions

Attached is a recipe for sweet potatoes that my family begs for every year, it is like getting to eat dessert with the meal!  This is Sheila Montgomery, my sister-in-law's recipe.  It must come from her family, because I know my brother and I never had this before he married her.

Sheila's Sweet Potato Yummy

3 to 4 cups cooked and peeled sweet potatoes (about 4 large ones)
Mash sweet potatoes and mix with the rest of the ingredients listed below:
1 cup white sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (this is not the whole can!)
1/2 cup of butter or margarine

Pour sweet potato mixture into greased baking dish and then top with the mixture made with the ingredients listed below:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
1 cup chopped pecans
Bake at 350° F for 25 minutes.

Barb Goodwin, Senior Administrative Assistant, Photography and Multimedia

 "I hardly ever drink, but this is a fun, faux elegant drink to follow desserts. My mom and Isip these while we prepare a snack of fancy cheese and summer sausage on crackers. Tres faux elegant!" 

Autumn Sangria

1 bottle of pinot grigio (a simple white wine)
2 cups of apple cider
1/4 cup of maple syrup (not to be confused with pancake syrup, get the real stuff)
1/4 cup of brandy
1 cup of club soda
3 cups of a mix of apples and pears (if you can get some decent plums this late in the season, throw it in there too. Don't substitute cranberries, though, then it becomes too tart and less warm)
3 cinnamon sticks (not the powdered stuff)

Combine it all in a large glass pitcher and refrigerate overnight. In the morning give it a brisk stir and serve chilled.

It is even better if you rim the cup with a cinnamon sugar mixture:

1 cup sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
a pinch of cloves or nutmeg

Combine mixture in bowl. Wet the rims of your glasses and dip it into the mixture.  

Amy Montz, associate professor of English

"Who doesn't love a dressing with three different types of breadstuffs?"

Thanksgiving Cornbread and Challah Dressing

1/2 pound sage sausage (I like Mayse's), cooked and crumbled
1 pan cornbread, crumbled
1 container biscuits, cooked
chicken stock
1/2 loaf challah bread, cubed
sage, fresh or rubbed/dried, to taste
2-4 hardboiled eggs (to preference)
diced onion, to taste
diced celery, to taste
diced garlic, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 stick butter (unsalted)

Cook vegetables in butter with chicken stock (depends on how moist you want it, but half to 1 box of chicken stock should work.  Cook until tender.

In a large bowl, combine breadstuffs, sausage, vegetable/stock mixture and chopped hardboiled eggs.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook in preheated 350° F oven for about 30-40 minutes.

Stephanie Russell, Senior Program Assistant, Outreach and Engagement

Four generations get together every Christmas to make cookies. Stephanie, her daughters, her mother and grandmother share this special time together every year. The following recipe was sent in care packages from her grandmother to her uncles when they were serving in the armed forces.

Pecan Balls

Ingredients:

1/2 pound butter
4 tablespoons sugar
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups broken pecans
Powdered sugar

Blend all ingredients thoroughly. Roll into balls. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350° F for 20 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar while warm.

LaVerne Jones, photographer, Photography and Multimedia

Oysters are a plentiful resource in Ireland. LaVerne shares this dish in honor of her Irish dad who passed down a family favorite, oyster dressing.

Oyster Dressing

Half a loaf of white bread, add more if you want drier
2 cups finely chopped celery
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cups turkey broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
5 eggs, beaten
2 pints or 1 quart oysters, drained

To make the dressing, tear white bread into small pieces.  Mix together and set aside. Sauté chopped celery and onion in butter until transparent, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over bread mixture. Add stock, mix well and add salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Add oysters and mix. Pour into a greased pan. Bake at 350° F for 45-60 minutes, checking regularly for doneness.

Angie O'Nan, Administrative Associate/USI Today Editor, University Communications

 This is a nice switch from a pineapple upside down cake. It's a bit messy, but it is definitely a comfort food indulgence.

Banana Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
4 bananas, sliced
1 (18.25 ounce) package banana cake mix

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour 2 (8 inch) pans. Combine butter and brown sugar, divide and spread evenly between the 2 pans. Sprinkle pecans evenly over both brown sugar mixtures, arrange banana slices evenly over each.

Prepare cake mix according to package instructions. Divide batter into the 2 pans.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Turn cakes upside down on a platter or plate, gently tap bottom and carefully remove pans, replacing caramel mixture that sticks to pan.