Texas Caviar: An Appetizing Salad

Dear SOS: We recently had a wonderful meal at the Beef Baron at the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas. I would greatly appreciate a recipe for Texas caviar appetizer made with black-eyed peas.

--MARY

Dear Mary: We tried it too, and it’s a perfect appetizer/salad for summer meals. Nutritious and refreshing.

FLAMINGO HILTON TEXAS CAVIAR

1/2 pound black-eyed peas

1 cup diced green peppers

1/4 cup diced pimientos

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeno chiles

1 cup Italian dressing

Salt, pepper

Soak peas in cold water to cover overnight. Drain and rinse. Cover with fresh water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour or longer until tender. Do not overcook.

Drain, rinse and drain again. Place drained peas in large bowl. Add green peppers, pimientos, onions, green onions, garlic, jalapeno chiles and Italian dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 4 cups.

Dear SOS: I have been searching for a recipe for the dry New York-style cheesecake I recall enjoying as a child. I have tried a few recipes that were disasters and am hoping you can come up with what I am so eager to find.

--BARBARA

Dear Barbara: We have tried developing this type of recipe and came up with something that somewhat resembles the New York dry cheesecake, which I too recall fondly growing up in New York. However, it is not a perfect replica. Perhaps one of our readers has the secret to the perfect, dry New York Cheesecake.

NEW YORK DRY CHEESECAKE

4 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup sifted flour

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1 pound hoop or farmer’s cheese

1 cup sour cream

Powdered sugar

Beat egg yolks until light. Add salt, lemon juice, vanilla, sugar, flour and lemon peel and beat. Mash cheese thoroughly with fork, then beat, adding small amounts of egg yolk mixture alternately with sour cream. Beat until batter is very smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff and carefully fold into cheese mixture.

Pour filling into well-greased 7-inch spring-form pan and bake at 350 degrees 1 hour or until golden brown. Turn off heat and let cake cool in oven with door open 1 hour or longer. Do not refrigerate. Let cake cool to room temperature and set before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Dear SOS: A Hungarian restaurant in San Francisco serves Langos, a salty doughnut rubbed with garlic. It’s out of this world.

--MRS. B.C.T.

Dear Mrs. B.C.T.: Langos are, indeed, great. They’re usually served warm with goulash and red wine. Here’s a standard recipe from our files.

LANGOS

(Hungarian Savory

Doughnuts)

1 cake dry yeast

1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk

2 eggs

4 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt

Oil for deep-frying

1 large clove garlic, split

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together flour, sugar and 2 teaspoons salt and stir into yeast mixture. Work dough with hands until all flour is absorbed. Knead on lightly floured board until dough is no longer sticky.

Place dough in floured bowl, cover and let rise until doubled or more in bulk. Punch down, turn out onto floured board and roll until about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 8-inch square pieces and deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown. Sprinkle both sides with salt and rub with garlic, if desired. Serve warm with goulash and red wine. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.

Dear SOS: I wonder if you can help me. When I was 16 years old, I worked for a bakery near my home. They used to make a delicious lemon cream cake with a light lemon filling. It was a lemon layer cake. I’m still looking for a moist lemon cake like the one I remember. Do you have a recipe?

--ANN

Dear Ann: Not having experienced your lemon cream cake, I can’t be sure if the recipe we give is anything like the one requested. However, it’s worth a try.

LEMON CREAM CAKE

2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 egg whites

Lemon Filling

Cream Frosting

Strawberries

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, 1/2 cup milk, vanilla and almond extract. Beat 2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup milk and unbeaten egg whites. Beat 2 minutes. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8-inch layer pans. Bake at 350 degrees 30 to 35 minutes. Cool. Spread Lemon Filling between layers and on top of cake. Frost sides of cake with Cream Frosting and place mound in center of top. Garnish with strawberries, if desired.

Lemon Filling

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt in top of double boiler. Gradually blend in water. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Blend a little hot mixture into egg yolk mixture, then stir yolks into remaining hot mixture. Cook over boiling water 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter, lemon juice and peel. Cool.

Cream Frosting

1 pint whipping cream

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine cream, powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff.