Time to catch up on earlier recipe requests from readers

Dear readers: Just like the new year, requests for recipes are coming fast and furious. I’ll do my best to help you find those lost recipes as 2005 gets underway. But for now, a little housecleaning is in order. Here are a few recipes sought by readers that didn’t make it into this column earlier. Happy cooking to all in the New Year!

Creamy String Bean Soup

Adapted from www.allrecipes.com

1 1/2 quarts water

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

4 potatoes, diced

1 (15-ounce) can cut green beans

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1 cup sour cream

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water. When half done, add beans, vinegar, salt and pepper and garlic clove (spear it on a toothpick for easy removal). Add onion. Simmer until potatoes are cooked. Remove garlic clove.

Combine the flour and water and make a smooth paste. Use paste to thicken the soup. Remove from heat and slowly stir in sour cream. Serve immediately.

Yield: About 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 202 calories, 8.4 grams fat (5 grams saturated, 37 percent fat calories), 4.6 grams protein, 29 grams carbohydrate, 17 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 422 milligrams sodium.

A reader thought the next recipe came from The Spokesman-Review’s Dorothy Dean files, but I was unable to locate any slow cooker soufflé recipes in the Dorothy Dean archives. I combined an Internet Crock-Pot souffle recipe with a Dorothy Dean recipe to come up with this spinach soufflé.

Spinach Soufflé in a Crock-Pot

Adapted from www.50plusfriends.com and Dorothy Dean files

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 cup grated onion

8 ounces light cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup diced Swiss cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 teaspoon white or black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Squeeze spinach to remove excess liquid. Chop coarsely and combine with grated onion. Beat remaining ingredients and blend into spinach mixture. Spoon mixture into a lightly buttered 3 1/2 -quart slow cooker, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired, and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 326 calories, 27 grams fat (9.4 grams saturated, 75 percent fat calories), 13.5 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrate, 113 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 571 milligrams sodium.

Earlier this month a reader was looking for a recipe for a log cookie. Laura Estes from Odessa, Wash., sent in this recipe, which she says comes from the 1960 McCall’s Cookie Collection. Thanks!

Finnish Logs

From McCall’s Cookie Collection

3/4 cup soft butter or margarine

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 egg, slightly beaten

Topping:

1/4 cup finely ground almonds

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, with a wooden spoon beat butter, sugar and almond extract until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, then mix with hands to make a smooth dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hands, shape into a roll 6 inches long. With a sharp knife, cut crosswise into 6 parts. Shape each part into a roll 12 inches long and 3/4 -inch in diameter. Cut each roll crosswise into 2-inch pieces to resemble logs.

Place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Brush tops lightly with beaten egg.

To make the topping, combine almonds and sugar and sprinkle over the logs. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 3 dozen

Approximate nutrition per cookie: 79 calories, 5 grams fat (2.5 grams saturated, 57 percent fat calories), 1.2 grams protein, 7.2 grams carbohydrate, 16 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 41 milligrams sodium.

Recipes wanted

A few requests sent to Cook’s Notebook in 2004 went unfulfilled, despite our best efforts to find decent matches. If you have a recipe that matches any of these requests, please pass it along to the address at the end of this column. Readers were looking for a “Dolly Parton Salad,” a recipe for an eggless and soyless mayonnaise, a pastry called Alligator Jaws, and a recipe for a shelf-stable huckleberry syrup that doesn’t need to be refrigerated.