Just like Mom’s Recipes with a mother’s touch inspire diverse appetites

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Ask virtually anyone. When it comes to talking about Mom’s cooking, faces light up. Voices become animated. Everyone, it seems, has a favorite dish and fond memories of the events surrounding it.

Reminiscing about Mom’s home cooking can take us back to our childhood, to simpler days, to a time when gathering around the dinner table every evening was more the rule than the exception.

For many mothers, serving up a hot, nourishing meal or a made-from-scratch dessert is just another expression of love. An antidote for a bad day. Some favorite recipes are cherished family heirlooms, passed down from mother to child for generations. Others are more recent and take advantage of some of the convenience foods available to moms today.

An informal survey of Bangor Daily News employees turned up a variety of favorites, ranging from simple to elaborate, from all-American to exotically ethnic, from main courses to desserts. If there’s a common thread among them, it’s that none is what you’d consider low-cal.

Little did state desk editor Tom McCord know that when he rhapsodized about his mother’s Cherry Yum-Yum that the three-ingredient dessert would become the inspiration for this Mother’s Day tribute. The pie and his mother-in-law’s Tater Tot Casserole are savory makings for a Just Like Mom’s Party.

One of business writer Deborah Turcotte-Seavey’s childhood favorites is her mother’s Zoer Vleis (Sour Meat), a stewlike beef and onion dish that includes, among other things, apple cider vinegar and whole cloves. It’s traditionally served with french fries and cold, sweet applesauce, which serve as a perfect balance to the spicy tartness of the meat.

“I’ve never had anybody not like it,” said Paula Turcotte of the hearty dish traditional in Maastricht, her native city in the Netherlands, an ancient walled town founded by the Romans. Like clam chowder or tourtiere, the meat pies made by generations of French-Canadians, every Dutch family has its own version of Zoer Vleis.

Paula Turcotte, who emigrated to North America nearly a half century ago, said Zoer Vleis was not an everyday dish in wartime Europe, when meat was hard to come by.

“My cats eat in one day more meat than we would eat in a week,” Turcotte recalled. When children came home from school and asked their mothers, “What’s for dinner?” the answer usually would be cabbage or potatoes or whatever vegetable the day’s main meal would be based on.

Another recipe with an ethnic twist is Polish Stew, a Ward family favorite that feeds a crowd. This one was recommended by second-generation NEWS maintenance man Dan Ward, whose dad, Ken Ward, was an award-winning writer, editor and pressman perhaps best known for his widely read harness-racing column, “The Railbird.” Ward acknowledged the stew was not an old tradition in his family.

“We don’t have a drop of Polish blood,” said Ward, who belongs to an Irish clan. The family loved it anyway. “We’d eat the whole thing. It was one of dad’s favorites.”

Ann Calderwood of the Retail Display Advertising Department fondly remembered her mom’s Chocolate Steamed Pudding recipe.

“It’s been in the family forever,” she said. An economical dessert, the pudding is made with inexpensive ingredients on hand in most households. “It was the smell when it was cooking – it would fill up the whole house.”

When Newspapers in Education coordinator Donna Fransen thinks of her mom’s cooking, Pineapple Pie comes to mind. The recipe she offered all but screams “New England.”

Looking for a special Mother’s Day breakfast dish? City editor and outdoor columnist Jeff Strout recommends Holiday Breakfast, a rich omeletlike dish assembled and baked in one dish.

“You make it the night before,” he said. That way, mom gets a morning off from the kitchen.

Following are recipes for some of the dishes shared by NEWS staffers.

Cherry Yum-Yum

Premade graham cracker pie crust

12 ounces canned cherry pie filling

Cool Whip or whipped cream

Spread pie filling in bottom of pie crust. Top with Cool Whip or whipped cream.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 pound hamburger, uncooked

1 package frozen Tater Tots

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Pour ingredients into casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Zoer Vleis

(Traditionally served with applesauce and french fries)

2 pounds stew beef

2 pounds chopped onions

oil or margarine

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (or to taste)

3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons whole cloves

salt and pepper

cornstarch

2 teaspoons sugar

In a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil or margarine over high heat. Place a layer of stew beef in bottom of pan and fry until very brown. Remove from pan and repeat until all meat is browned. It is important that no meat juices form. You want only browned bits in your pan. In another heavy saucepan, heat margarine or oil over medium heat. Brown onions all at once, stirring occasionally. Add onions to meat and add enough water to just cover. Scrape browned bits from bottom of pan and lower heat.

Add vinegar, bay leaves and cloves. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir again. Cover pan and simmer for three hours, until meat almost falls apart. Before serving, bring mixture almost to a boil. Mix a tablespoon or so of cornstarch with a little water and stir into beef mixture to thicken to desired consistency. Remove from heat and stir in sugar.

Pineapple Pie

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

11/2 cups crushed pineapple

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2/3 cup sweet cream

large unbaked pie shell

Beat butter, sugar and yolks of two eggs until creamy. Add pineapple. Dissolve cornstarch in sweet cream. Add to pineapple mixture, mixing thoroughly. Gently fold in two stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until filling is browned on top and firm in the center.

Polish Stew

1 pound kielbasa sausage, sliced

1 pound pork, cubed

2 pounds beef, cubed

2 16-ounce cans sauerkraut

1 16-ounce can stewed tomatoes

Peeled potatoes, carrots (as much as desired)

Put ingredients in roasting pan. Bake at 350 degrees for three hours.

Holiday Breakfast

7 slices white bread

8 ounces sharp cheddar

6 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 stick melted butter

Trim crusts from bread. Crumble bread and cheese, spread in casserole dish. Beat eggs and milk, stir in salt, pepper and mustard. Pour over bread and cheese. Drizzle butter over top. Refrigerate, covered, overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Steamed Pudding

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, well beaten

1 cup flour

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 square unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

Butter, a lump the size of an egg

Add sugar to well-beaten egg. Add, alternating, dry ingredients and milk. Add chocolate and butter, which have been melted together. Pour into large, greased can and cover tightly. (A 3-pound Crisco can would work well.) Set can in large pan and add water to half the can’s height. Steam 1 hour in simmering, not boiling, water. Serve with hard sauce, whipped cream or other topping of your choice.