Try Freezing The Leftovers From This Stew

If you’re cooking for a crowd over the holiday weekend, you might want to try this recipe that reader Stan Yirak of Hartline, Wash. discovered in an old “Southern Cookbook” he found while going through some family effects.

The traditional Kentucky Burgoo calls for 600 pounds of lean soup meat; 200 pounds of fat hens; 2,000 pounds of potatoes (peeled and diced); 200 pounds of onions; 5 bushels of cabbage; 60 10-pound cans of tomatoes; 24 10-pound cans of tomato puree; 24 10-pound cans of carrots and 18 10-pound cans of corn.

Season with red pepper, salt and Worcestershire, Tabasco or A-1 sauce and cook outdoors in iron kettles over wood fires for 15-20 hours. Yield: 1,200 gallons (we imagine it could be halved).

And for a special touch, “Use squirrels in season … one dozen squirrels to each 100 gallons.”

Lots of dough, boy

That mother of all cooking contests, the Pillsbury Bake-Off, has announced the mother of all cooking contest prizes: $1 million, up from a $50,000 grand prize last year.

“This will put America back in the kitchen,” predicts Mary Ann Tyndall of Whiteville, N.C., whose Fudgy Bonbons are the defending champion.

But not necessarily for very long at a time. New contest categories include 30-Minute Main Dishes and Quick Treats and Snacks, along with Special Side Dishes and Simple Breads, and Special Occasion Desserts.

Entry deadline is Oct. 16. Call 1-800-598-8753 for details, or write to Pillsbury Bake-Off Entry Blanks, P.O. Box 8668, St. Cloud, MN 56398-8668.

Healthy honor

And speaking of quick cooking, congratulations to correspondent Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian who writes the “Five and Fifteen” column for IN Food.

Dobler recently received the Clinical Dietetics and Research Excellence Award from the Washington State Dietetic Association, for providing the public with outstanding nutrition education materials, based on her work for us along with other articles and pamphlets.

Call for deliverance

With summer just around the corner, you’re probably planning all sorts of fun food activities.

To help get you started, here’s a tip from the press release announcing the new “Weekend! A Menu Cookbook for Relaxed Entertaining” from Storey Publishing: “Try an unusual Brie and Pear Pizza for your carefree ‘River Rafting Weekend.”’