Suzie Gurney, our Librarian at Centennial High School. 

I’m of German Heritage, and I enjoy making it because it brings out my German culture. It’s fairly easy and turns out beautifully, and delicious. I’ve always been interested in german cooking and I actually found this recipe in a German recipe book in our school library.

Apple Cake/ Apfelkuchen

Ingredients:

1 lemon, 4 medium-sized tart apples

1 ⅓ c. all-purpose flour,

1 ¼ tsp of baking powder

 ¼ lb (½ c.) butter or margarine, softened

½ c plus 2 tbsp of sugar

 2 room temperature eggs

2 tsp of cinnamon

 Whipped cream.

(You can substitute 1 lb of cherries, pitted, or twelve prune plums,pitted and quartered, for apples.)

Process:

First you want to grate rind from lemons and set the rind aside. Then you want to squeeze the juice from the lemons into a medium bowl. Peel core apples and cut them into quarters. Dip the apple pieces into the lemon juice so the apples won’t turn brown. 

Then you want to preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease 10-inch springform pan. 

In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream together butter and ½ c. sugar. You want to add eggs and lemon rinds and blend until it’s fluffy. Add flour mixture, mix well, and pour into the pan. 

Make deep lengthwise cuts in the ⅛-inch intervals across the rounded side of each piece of apple. Press apples, and cut side up in the dough. 

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon with 2 tbsp. sugar, and sprinkle evenly over apples. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake (not in apple) comes out clean. 

You’re done, serve with whipped cream and enjoy! 

Jeff Stanek, our Journalism Advisor at Centennial High School.

Family gatherings always involved food.  Now that all of my aunts and uncles have passed, I feel honored that they shared those memories and recipes with me.  This one is easy, but it’s important that you follow the steps because mixing anything with hard cream cheese is difficult!  So don’t rush it! And, like many foods, this is better if it has a chance to sit overnight. (Good luck with that!) And I have to be honest, you might as well double or triple this because it’s going to go fast!

Aunt Shirley’s Clam Dip

Ingredients:

2 blocks Philadelphia Cream Cheese

½ cup Sour Cream 

3 8 oz cans of Snow’s clams; 4 if you feel extravagant

Garlic—fresh and/or granulated (NOT Garlic Salt!)

White Pepper

Tabasco Sauce

Worcester Sauce

Process:

Start with room temperature Cream Cheese

Drain the clam juice; reserve some for later

Fold in clams (use a fork, not a mixer)

Add Sour Cream

Add Garlic to taste …a tablespoon or two to start

Give it a shake or two of Worcester Sauce

Spice it up with Tabasco if you like it hot

Hit it with a teaspoon or so of White Pepper

Refrigerate!  

Test for consistency…if it’s too thick, thin with clam juice.

Variations

Make sure you use name brand, real potato chips for this.  Knock offs just don’t do it. We use Ruffles with Ridges! And if it’s too thick, we’ve been known to use tortilla chips which seem to hold up to the extreme dippers!

Emily, our Administrative Secretary at Centennial High School.

When my mom was a little girl, she would visit her grandmother once a year in South Dakota. These rolls would be waiting for them when they got there – a special treat. Since then it has become a special-occasion family recipe in remembrance of grandma. 

Emily’s Great Grandma’s Angel-Food-Pan Pull-Aparts 

*The smell of Christmas morning* 

24 Frozen dinner rolls 

½ Cup butter

½ Cup brown sugar 

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Process: 

Place frozen rolls in an angel food cake pan. Melt together butter, syrup, and brown sugar and pour mixture over rolls. Sprinkle 1 package of regular butterscotch pudding over the top. Cover top with towel and let set out at room temperature overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Take out of oven and let stand for a few minutes. Then turn over on to plate and enjoy!