Sourdough Scones From Oregon Restaurant

Dear SOS: Hope you can help. During a trip to the Pacific Northwest, we stopped in Bend, Ore., and had a delightful dinner at the Pine Tavern restaurant. To start the dinner, we were served several baskets of the most delicious scones we have ever tasted. We complimented the owner and he said they were from his grandmother’s recipe. Is there a chance you could obtain the recipe?

--LESLIE

Dear Leslie: These fried sourdough scones are quite lovely and light. The starter must mellow for 48 hours before it can be mixed with the batter.

PINE TAVERN SOURDOUGH SCONES

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon yeast

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup Sourdough Starter

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup powdered milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon honey

Oil for deep-frying

Add water to yeast. Stir to dissolve. Add flour, sugar and Sourdough Starter. Mix thoroughly. Add butter, milk, egg and honey. Knead dough on lightly floured board. Shape into rectangle and cut into 2-inch triangles. Roll into circles and flatten to 1/2 inch. Allow to rise until tripled in bulk.

Heat oil to 350 degrees. Drop scones into hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides. Makes 6 to 12 scones.

Sourdough Starter

1 cup tepid water

1 envelope dry yeast

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour

Add water to yeast to dissolve. Let mixture stand in warm place 30 minutes. Gradually add flour to yeast mixture, mixing lightly. Cover and place in warm place free of drafts 48 hours before preparing scones.

Dear SOS: I believe you printed a cranberry cake recipe using whole canned cranberries. It was delicious and it happens to be a friend’s favorite cake. I would like to bake it for her birthday.

--IRENE

Dear Irene: Is this it?

SPICY CRANBERRY CAKE

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

3 1/4 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 cups raisins

1 (3 1/2-ounce) can flaked coconut

1 (10-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce

Additional flaked coconut, optional

Grease 4 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line bottom with wax paper and grease again. In bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Combine eggs and milk. Sift flour and baking powder together. Add alternately with milk mixture to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Add vanilla.

Spoon half of batter into 2 prepared pans. Add cinnamon, allspice and cloves to remaining batter. Stir in raisins.

Spoon raisin batter into remaining 2 prepared pans. Bake all 4 layers at 350 degrees 30 to 35 minutes or until tops spring back when touched lightly. Cool cakes on racks. Remove layers from pans while still slightly warm. Remove wax paper and cool layers.

In bowl, blend 3 1/2 ounces coconut and cranberry sauce. Spread between cooled layers (alternating plain and raisin layers) and on top of cake. Add additional coconut. Makes 16 to 20 servings.

Dear SOS: I have been addicted to Pad Thai (Thai noodles) for years now. I eat it at least twice a week. I’d make it myself but don’t yet know the secret of the red sauce. Can you help?

--LYDIA

Dear Lydia: The secret ingredient in Pad Thai is fish sauce, a major seasoning throughout Southeast Asian cuisines, from Vietnam to the Philippines. Fish sauce is the fermented residue from anchovies salt-cured in wooden vats. The best quality is that which is taken from the first draining of the barrel. An addition of fish sauce in dishes gives products their distinctive flavor and red color. This and other Southeast Asian products called for in the recipe below can be found in most Oriental food stores.

PAD THAI

1/2 pound Thai rice noodles

Oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 egg

1/4 cup peeled and cleaned shrimp, soaked in hot water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups bean sprouts

2 green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths

2 1/2 tablespoons ground roasted peanuts

Soak noodles in cold water 10 to 15 minutes until slightly soft. Heat 1/3 cup oil in wok. Add drained noodles and stir-fry quickly. Add vinegar, fish sauce and paprika and stir.

Push noodles to one side of wok. Pour a little oil next to noodles. Break egg into oil and cook without scrambling until almost firm. Break up egg and stir in noodles. Add drained shrimp, sugar, bean sprouts and green onions and stir. Stir in heaping tablespoon of crushed peanuts. Turn noodles out onto serving platter and top with remaining peanuts. Makes 4 servings.

Only recipes of general interest will be printed. We are unable to answer all requests. Please include restaurant address when requesting recipes from restaurants. Send your letter with self-addressed, stamped envelope to Culinary SOS, Food Section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.