RECIPE SPICY CHICKEN

  From Pflugerville resident Geneva Rooney, in memory of her grandmother’s spicy chicken that she says dates back to the 1800s and remains a favorite in her family. “It was a common meal in African-American families like mine, with one recipe or another,” she says.

 

Makes: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

·       8 pieces of skinless chicken (4 breasts, 4 drumsticks)

·       5 Tbsp tomato sauce

·       1 tsp ketchup

·       2 tsp honey

·       1 tsp molasses

·       1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

·       4 tsp white vinegar

·       ¾ tsp cayenne pepper

·       ¼ tsp ground black pepper

·       ¼ tsp onion powder

·       1/8 tsp grated ginger

·       2 cloves garlic, minced

 

Directions

  Combine all ingredients except chicken in a sauce pan, and simmer for 15 minutes. Wash chicken, pat dry and place on a large platter. Brush the chicken completely with half of the sauce mixture. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

  Place the chicken on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil for 10 minutes to seal in the juices. Remove from oven and brush the chicken completely with the remaining sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and baker at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

  Serve with collard greens, mashed potatoes and cornbread.

IN THIS MONTH: 1845

  On January 5, the first telegraph company in Texas was chartered. The Texas and Red River Company opened its first office in Marshall on February 14, offering patrons connections with New Orleans via Shreveport and with Alexandria, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi. Wires were strung from treetop to treetop, and in many instances telegraph operators closed the offices and rode along the lines to make repairs when the wind swaying the trees caused breaks in the wires. By 1870 there was an estimated 1,500 miles of telegraph wire in Texas. Expansion was rapid up to 1890 as the transcontinental railroads completed lines across the state . . .

RECIPE: HOMESTEAD POTATO SOUP

  From Austin resident D.J. Talifero, in memory of her grandmother’s yummy potato soup.

 

Makes: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

·       2 large Russet potatoes, about 2 pounds

·       1 cup diced carrots, about 2 large

·       1 clove garlic, mashed and diced

·       3 cups water

·       1 tablespoon chicken flavor bouillon

·       1 tablespoon dried parsley

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       1 stick butter

·       ½ cup all purpose flour

·       1/2 teaspoon salt

·       1/2 teaspoon black pepper

·       4 cups whole milk

·        

Directions

 Peel and dice the potatoes. Place in a 3-quart pot. Peel and dice the carrots, smash and mince the garlic and add both with 3 cups of water. Add a heaping tablespoon of the bouillon, salt and the parsley. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. then simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat., and use a potato masher to mash the mixture to the desired consistency.

  Make white sauce in a 2 quart pot by melting ½ cup butter over medium heat. Add ½ cup flour and stir it into a paste. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ½  teaspoon pepper. Cook this mixture for 1-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk 1 cup at a time. Bring slowly to a boil and then let boil for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat. Pour the white sauce into the potato pot and stir together.

  Serve warm topped with shredded cheese or chopped green onions.

IN THIS MONTH: 1845

  On December 29, the United States Congress voted to annex Texas. Statehood was first proposed in 1837, but was rejected by President Martin Van Buren. Constitutional scruples and fear of war with Mexico were the reasons given for the rejection, but antislavery sentiment in the United States undoubtedly influenced Van Buren and continued to be the chief obstacle to annexation. Under President James Polk, the United States Congress approved an annexation resolution in February 1845. The Texas Congress and a convention of elected delegates voted for annexation, and it was ratified by a popular vote in October 1845, followed by congressional acceptance of the annexation two months later. On February 19, 1846, President Anson Jones of the Republic of Texas handed over control of the new state government to Governor James Pinckney Henderson.

RECIPE: TEXAS FLAPJACKS

  From Manor resident Deb Anderson, who says her family has enjoyed the spotted breakfast staple at home and on campouts for decades — since settling in Texas more than 100 years ago.

 

Makes: 4 servings

 

Ingredients

·       1 ½ cups flour

·       2 teaspoon baking powder

·       ⅛ teaspoon salt

·       2 eggs, beaten

·       ¼ cup sugar

·       1 cup milk

·       2 tablespoon butter, melted

 

Directions

  Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl then form a small well in the middle of the mixture. In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs. Add milk and stir, then mix with the flour.

  Lightly butter a skillet with medium heat. Spoon batter onto the pan in cakes slightly smaller than regular pancakes. Cook until golden brown on both sides;

Cool slightly before topping with syrup

IN THIS MONTH: 1835

   On November 26, Texan forces defeated a Mexican column in the so-called Grass Fight, just weeks after the Battle of Gonzales that started the Texas Revolution and a runup to the Battle of the Alamo four months later. The Texas army besieging San Antonio was informed that Mexican cavalrymen with pack animals were approaching. Thinking the column might be carrying pay for the Mexican army, the Texans attacked. Gen. Martín Perfecto de Cos, commander of the Mexican garrison in San Antonio, sent out infantrymen and an artillery piece. The Texans led by Col. James Bowie eventually drove the Mexicans back. Texas losses included four wounded, while Mexican losses numbered three dead and fourteen wounded. The pack train, the Texans soon discovered, was carrying only grass for the Mexican army animals . . .

RECIPE: CHISHOLM TRAIL STEW

  From Pflugerville resident Dick Burton, who says his family has enjoyed this Chisholm Trail Stew for decades.

 

Makes: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

·       2 tablespoons vegetable oil

·       1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into small pieces

·       1/4 teaspoon salt

·       4 cups assorted cut-up fresh vegetables (potatoes, carrots, celery, peas and onions)

·       1 can (14 oz.) beef broth

·     1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

 

Directions

  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet or saucepan. Add meat and salt, and cook 5 minutes, stirring until browned on all sides. Remove from skillet and keep warm.

  Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and vegetables to skillet. Cook 5 minutes until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Return meat to skillet; stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with bread or crackers, with your choice of toppings.

IN THIS MONTH: 1839

  On October 17, Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas, and his cabinet arrived in the new capital city of Austin. Lamar had appointed Edwin Waller to lay out the new capital at the site of the community of Waterloo, on what was then the Indian frontier, as the first step in a grand scheme to extend the republic all the way to the Pacific Ocean. When Sam Houston was elected president for the second time, in 1841, he feared a Mexican attack on Austin. Houston declared Washington-on-the-Brazos the capital of the republic and ordered the government archives removed from Austin, but his order touched off the Archive War, and Austin was ultimately reaffirmed as capital in 1844. Lamar is said to have selected Waterloo as the site for the new capital while on a scouting trip on land overlooking the current site of Pioneer Farms.

RECIPE: BAKED PUMPKIN SEEDS

  From Austin resident Della Johnson, who says this recipe dates to the 1800s when her mother recalls her grandmother baking pumpkin seeds as a treat for her family in their home on West 14th Street in Austin. “It was a treat every year in October every time she made a (pumpkin) pie.”

 

Makes: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

·       1 ½ cups pumpkin seeds

·       2 teaspoons salt, with more at serving

·       2 teaspoons nut oil

·       2 teaspoons spices  such as curry powder, harissa and chili powder

 

Directions

  Heat an oven to 350 degrees. Fill a medium saucepan with about 2 cups of water and season with 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil.

  Scoop seeds from the pumpkin, and clean them of remaining pumpkin meat in a bowl of water. Then, add them to the boiling salted water. Simmer for 5 minutes.

  Dry the seeds on a clean dish clot. Mound the dried seeds on a baking sheet, add the oil and desired spices and mix until they are well coated. Spread the seeds into one layer and make for 10-20 minutes, or until they are brown at the edges. Cool and serve.

IN THIS MONTH: 1836

  On this day in 1836, General Sam Houston, the victor of San Jacinto, was elected president of the newly founded Republic of Texas. Candidates for the office had included Henry Smith, governor of the provisional government, and Stephen F. Austin. Houston became an active candidate just eleven days before the election. He received 5,119 votes, Smith 743, and Austin 587. Mirabeau B. Lamar, the "keenest blade" at San Jacinto, was elected vice president.