Spicy Peach & Hatch Grilled Chicken  

INGREDIENTS  4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1⁄2 cup Fischer & Wieser Harvest Peach & Hatch Pepper Sauce garlic powder to tastefresh ground black pepper to tastesalt to taste  DIRECTIONS  Sprinkle both sides generously with garlic powder and black pepper. Let stand in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Spray the grill with oil. Preheat on high for 10 minutes. Transfer chicken breasts…

Crème Brûlée

Crème Brûlée is a French term for a rich, baked custard made with cream rather than milk. It is topped with a layer of brown caramelized sugar which was initially accomplished by using a Salamander, a flat disk made of iron on the end of a long handle, that had been heated in a stove’s…

Watermelon 

I first tasted watermelon at an afternoon Kaffeeklatsch at Ernst and Minna Kallenberg’s home. They lived in a simple 3-room Classic Cottage along what was once the Old Comfort Road. They were an elderly couple who had moved “into town” from Grapetown. They became my adoptive grandparents, and they had a Kaffeeklatsch mid-morning and mid-afternoon, but watermelon…

Tapioca Pudding 

Perhaps, once as a child, you plunged your spoon into Tapioca Pudding expecting the smooth sensations of a vanilla pudding. Instead, you got a mouthful of squishiness from what looked like a bowl of fish eggs. Such an experience could leave anyone traumatized and wary of this dessert for years. If this rings true for you,…

Macaroni and Cheese

We had macaroni and cheese often at home, as I assume many other people did as well – it has long been a favorite of millions. I do not remember the kinds of cheese my mom used, but it was likely Velveeta. Some cookbooks pontificate that apart from meat loaf and fried chicken, few dishes…

Chili & Beans

The cold winter days of the past two years have reminded me of my childhood. That was a good time to have a hot bowl of chili. One might not believe that chili was a dish that Germans would relish, but not so! Had it not been for William F. Gebhardt introducing the first chili…

Estella’s Oven-baked BBQ Spareribs

I have learned much while putting together these recipes—particularly when attempting to recall things that occurred half a century or more earlier. Sometimes, it’s difficult, as it was with this recipe. I could not recall if the ribs that I had enjoyed so much had been beef or pork. I was rather certain that they…

MIRACLE WHIP CHOCOLATE CAKE

Miracle Whip is a condiment created by Kraft Foods that was developed as a less expensive alternative to mayonnaise. To win acceptance it was bolstered by Kraft’s extensive advertising campaign, which included sponsorship of a series of two-hour radio programs. Miracle Whip soon outsold all mayonnaise brands and by 1950 Ed Herlihy’s voice of “cheer…

Fett Kreppeln – Doughnuts

The first doughnuts or donuts (both spellings are correct) I remember were those that I watched my grandmother make. The first reference to them spelled as donuts occurred in 1900 in Peck’s Bad Boy and his Pa by Henry Peck which featured the adventures of a young prankster. Today donuts are a ring-shaped snack which…

Salzfleisch – Salted Pork

Salted Pork is another of those dishes that has faded from most American kitchens – except from a few here in Fredericksburg. It was one of my favorites—probably because we did not have it all that often. It takes time to make but is worth the effort – the taste is unforgettable! Salting as a…

Ice Cold Lemonade

We sometimes forget some of the simpler things that once brought a refreshing pause. A cold pitcher of lemonade could do that. My dad, who spent practically every evening playing cards before the arrival of television, would make himself a pitcher of lemonade, especially during the long, hot summers of the ‘50s. We had no…

Sugar Bread Sandwich

By Mark Wieser I wonder how many of today’s readers of the Fredericksburg Standard remember a sugar bread sandwich. By now you know of my love of sugar and the fact that I do campaign in favor of it – understanding that moderation is important of course. But I feel I can be honest with…