Laura Welch Bush’s Bush Family Granola

Baked oats, wheat flakes, Wheat Germ, almonds, bran, dry milk and honey

First Lady Bush earned her BA in education from Southern Methodist University and her graduate degree, a masters in library science, from UT.

“The possibilities for variation are endless,” exclaims McQueary (268) with regard to this recipe.

1 cup (1 package) non fat dry milk and 1 cup (light) brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)

5 cups rolled oats, 1 cup wheat flakes, 1 cup Wheat Germ (the author specifies Krestmer brand wheat germ, yet Whole Foods didn’t have it in stock), 1 cup (wheat) bran, 1 cup sliced almonds, 1 cup (1 packet) non fat dry milk, 1 cup (light) brown sugar, 3/4 cup hot water, 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup) are all combined in a large mixing bowl.

The granola is evenly spread on a baking sheet and baked at 350F for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes, the granola is stirred to prevent burning the bottom layer. I would flip the sheet around every 15 minutes and stir the granola around with a spatula, yet my efforts weren’t aggressive enough: some granola still burned.

Bake 350F for 45 minutes, stirring the granola at 15 minute intervals.

This granola recipe is scrumptious atop hot oatmeal! I love the honey’s sweet stickiness.

Anita Thigpen Perry’s Creme Brûlée

Crème Brule cup with a custard center and burnt brown sugar topping

Cook the Custard

8 egg yolks are beaten until smooth.

1 cup sugar *(I prepared a double portion)*

1/2 tsp vanilla (I prepared a double portion)

1/2 quart (4 cups) heavy cream, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, pinch of salt and 1/4 tsp vanilla are mixed together in a “heavy saucepan (nonaluminum),” (McQueary, 275). I chose a ceramic Dutch oven to scald the cream and rest of the ingredients. Recipe advises against boiling the custard. Recipe didn’t specify when to remove the Dutch oven from the heat, yet the next step is to strain the mixture through a cheesecloth. My custard never formed clumps, no need to strain. Recipe doesn’t state how many Ramekin cups to fill, yet does specify the cups must hold 1/2 cup.

I doubled this recipe (I needed to expend some egg yolks) and was able to fill 9 ramekins.

Bake the Custard

Each filled ramekin is placed in a hot water bath, the recipe specifies to fill the bath until 2/3rds of the side is submerged. The recipe cautions against air bubbles in the custards, I used my finger to circumvent the inside of each cup to remove the bubbles. The water bath will ensure equal dissipation of heat around the cups.

Pan is baked at 350F for 25-40 minutes. I found that a pan of 6 custards were set within 35 minutes. The tops are set but maintain a gel consistency. Custards are chilled, then prepared for the brulee.

Bake the Brulee

2 tsp light brown sugar is sprinkled over each custard, though the recipe doesn’t specify how much light brown sugar use atop the individual custards. I found that mixing brown and granulated white sugar helped produce a rich golden brulee. My first batch of ramekin were only coated with brown sugar, which easily burned in the oven and produced a scorched topping, albeit still tasty.

Once the sugars are sprinkled, the ramekins(placed on a baking sheet) are broiled until the sugar bubbles. 20 minutes at 450F heat on the top oven rack helped broil the first batch of 6 ramekins.

I love the contrast of the sweet crisp topping and the smooth, rich vanilla custard underneath! Delicious. I ate these hot straight out of the oven and after being chilled in the fridge.

Betty Jane Slaughter Briscoe’s Briscoe Picoso

Prepare the Jalapeno Peppers

Place 22 jalapeno peppers in a pot and boil until they “lose their bright green color,” (McQueary, 220). The peppers boiled for 37 minutes before turning a dull dark green, skin peeling, with some smaller peppers burst open.

I did not deseed the peppers, in hindsight this may have been wise.

Peppers are destemmed and placed in a blender (or food processor).

4 garlic cloves are peeled and placed in the blender, followed by juice from one lemon and 1 tsp salt.

Once the ingredients are successfully pureed, 2 cans of whole stewed tomatoes are gradually added to the paste.

Tomatoes are pulsed in the blender to retain a chunky texture.

The picoso lives up to its name: its far too spicy for my palate!

Betty Jane Slaughter Briscoe’s Angel Gingerbread

Gingerbread, slightly overbaked. The hot bread was removed from its pan too early, hence the broken pieces.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine all ingredients at once: 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup boiling water.

1/4 cup molasses. Seasonings:1 tsp each: ginger, baking soda and salt.

Grease a small baking pan and bake for 55 minutes (45 minutes, per McQueary, p. 222).

Betty Jane Slaughter Briscoe’s Bread Pudding

Bread pudding prepared over a double broiler. I fear my pudding was under-cooked after 90 minutes over the double broiler. I found the pudding completely cooked once it was baked at 300F for 20 minutes.

8 slices of white bread, dipped in melted butter and cubed.

Betty Jane Slaughter Briscoe’s Venison Chili

Venison is not sold wholesale in Texas . Acquiring venison was the hardest part of this recipe! Sadly, I lost my patience and elected for a venison/pork sausage combination. Incidentally, deer meat sometimes is dressed to make it gamey and inedible, thus combining it with a domestic meat can be beneficial. At home I prepare buffalo burgers by blending ground buffalo with ground turkey to assuage the toughness of the buffalo meat.

Prepare the Meat

Fry 20 oz (1.5lbs) bacon in a skillet, until crisp. Break bacon into bits.

Empty 4 rolls of venison/pork sausage to produce 1.5lbs meat and cook until done (4 minutes in the microwave). Crumple sausage meat and remove casing. Combine bacon and sausages in a crockpot.

Add 2qt (1/2 gallon) kidney beans (I used canned beans), 1 qt chopped onions (sweet onions), 4 no. 303 cans tomatoes (2 qts) and the spices to the crockpot.

Spices

1.5 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp. chili powder, and 1 tbsp. salt, 1/2 tsp comino seed. Stir seasonings among the vegetables and meat.

Add enough water to the crockpot to cover the food, then simmer for 2 hours. Chili was ready within 2 hours. I feel this chili was watery, I will use less water next time.

The seasonings make the hearty venison rather tasty.

Betty Jane Slaughter Briscoe’s A Variation of Texas Picante Sauce

McQueary describes the recipe as: “…an earlier version of Briscoe Picoso. It packs a lesser punch…” (McQueary, 223).

Boil 18 serrano (or jalapeno) peppers until they turn “olive drab green,” 20 minutes.

Blend 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp Mazola (R) oil and a “sprinkling” of salt until they form a paste.

While the recipe calls for 3 large cans of stewed whole tomatoes, my food processor could only hold 2 cans’ quantity of tomatoes. I added 3 fresh roma tomatoes to the sauce, brining out a fresh tomato taste while providing enough vegetable to assuage the peppers’ spice.

Betty Jane Slaughter Briscoe’s 7 Up Cake

Cream 1/2 c shortening, 1 cup margarine and 3 cups sugar

December 12, 1972 was the final lunar landing for NASA. Traveling aboard Apollo 17, astronaut Eugene Cernon performed his third lunar walk over a 73 hour span. Cernon’s career space walk hours: 566. Apollo 17 logged the longest lunar mission, over 300 hours, including 22 hours of lunar extravehicular activity. Standing on the moon, Cernon noted “America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. And as we leave the moon, and Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and G-d willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind,” (Texas History Online).

Betty Jane Slaughter Briscoe’s Spoon Bread

Blend 2 tbsp. butter and 1.5 cups cornmeal

Serve bread from a casserole dish with a spoon. This dish tastes like a rich cornbread.

1974 KLRN, an affiliate of PBS, started a music program: Austin City Limits. ACL featured musicians Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Bonnie Raitt, Merle Haggard, Elvis Costello and more. ACL enhanced the patronage of country music in the 1980s. 28 years later, the inaugural ACL Festival was held in Zilker Park.