Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Saturday, September 06, 2008
Reader Exchange: Dill pickles, cucumber salad
I blinked. I swear it was only a fraction of a second, but I blinked. And just that quick, summer was gone. Schools already are or soon will be in session, area swimming pools are being drained and the fall barrage of festivals is about to kick into high gear.
The Exchange has been in high gear most of the summer, with lots of requests and lots of responses coming in. I had planned to wrap up a few of them this week, when it occurred to me that with tons of cucumbers “ripe for the picking,” it might be a better idea to address Shirley P.’s two-fold, seasonal request: refrigerator dill pickles and sour cream cucumber salad.
Ida Schaefer of Norwalk, Wis., shared her refrigerator dill pickle recipe and notes that “this is the first time I have made refrigerator pickles that actually crunch when you bite into them.” Of her recipe, Bev Breidel says, “This is a very easy, delicious dill pickle recipe ... that keeps in the refrigerator for a couple of months or until the grandkids find them!”
Pris Anderson of Chaseburg, Wis., shared a refrigerator pickle recipe and one for cucumber salad, saying, “Here are two recipes that are winners at our house.”
The recipe for Hapsburg cucumbers was shared by Pat M., who says “you must prepare this Austrian favorite several hours ahead.” And, rounding things out is Judy Johnston of La Crosse’s recipe for freezer pickles and an “old-time recipe” for quick cucumber salad.
These refrigerator pickle recipes don’t involve vacuum-packing, so you don’t need to worry about water baths and such, but Wisconsin Master Preserver Mary Craig recommends sterilizing jars if you are using them and says the acid in the vinegar should make it safe to leave the cucumbers in brine at room temperature as required by the recipe, but if you notice spoilage, throw them away.
Oct. 16 is the date of this year’s Taste of Home Home Cooking School: two entertainment-packed hours preceded by the sample-laden vendor’s fair (arrive early though; the samples go in a flash). There are lots of door prizes, from cookbooks to bags of groceries, as well as the demonstrated recipes and their serving dishes. Tickets are $12 and available at the La Crosse Center box office.
We’re looking for New Villa recipes: sour cream raisin pie and chicken salad for Mari Moore of Westby, Wis. Joey is in the market for “cabbage rollups that freeze well.” And Susan Larkin laments that she hasn’t been able to duplicate People’s Food Co-op’s recipes. In particular, she is interested in artichoke and pea pasta salad and portabella mushroom/asiago cheese pasta salad. She says, “I hope your intrepid readers can help me find these two.”
Send requests, recipes and/or cooking tips and techniques to Alice P. Clark at: Reader Exchange, c/o La Crosse Tribune, 401 N. Third St., La Crosse, WI 54601; e-mail: exchange@lacrossetribune.com or send a fax to (608) 782-9723.
Home Style Refrigerator Kosher Dills
Fresh dill
Garlic cloves
2 quarts water
1 quart white vinegar
1 cup pickling salt
For each quart of pickles, add 1 head of dill and 2 to 3 cloves of garlic. Select fresh and firm cucumbers. Wash and pack them into large container. Bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil; pour hot solution over cucumbers, enough to cover. Cover container and refrigerate. Depending on size of pickle, they will be ready in a couple of weeks. (Shared by Ida Schaefer, Norwalk)
Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Line bottom of ice cream bucket with 2 or 3 dill heads. Break apart 1 garlic bulb (about 7 toes); add to bucket. Add small pickles or sliced larger ones (good way to get rid of some of the larger pickles that are too hard to get in jars). Mix together: 1/2 cup salt, 2 quarts water and 2 cups white vinegar. Pour mixture over pickles (do not boil brine before putting on pickles). Add 3 or 4 more dill heads on top. Cover with a plate; weigh down the plate (I use a quart jar of water). Let stand at room temperature for three days. Remove weight and put lid on the bucket. Refrigerate — the longer you can keep in the refrigerator the better, but they can be eaten after three days. I also set the bucket in one of my larger soup bowls as sometimes the juice will run over; then you need to pour some of the water out of your quart jar. Just be sure the pickles remain covered with brine.
(Shared by Bev Breidel)
Dan & Denise Johnson’s Refrigerator Pickles (not dill but so good)
7 cups sliced cucumbers
1 cup green pepper, cut up
1 cup sliced onion
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1 tablespoon celery seed
Dressing:
1 cup vinegar
2 cups sugar
Combine cucumbers, green pepper and onion; sprinkle with salt and celery seed.
Fill canning jars. Combine vinegar and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves; pour in jars. Keep in refrigerator.
(Shared by Pris Anderson, Chaseburg)
Creamy Cucumbers in Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise OR 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
4 cups sliced cucumbers, peeled or unpeeled
In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar and salt. Add cucumbers and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
(From RecipeZaar; shared by Pris Anderson, Chaseburg)
Hapsburg Cucumbers
3 medium cucumbers, peeled
1 large mild onion
Salt
Oil
Vinegar
1 cup sour cream
Pepper to taste
Score peeled cucumbers with fork; slice paper thin. Slice onion paper thin. Arrange alternate layers of cucumber and onion in a bowl, sprinkling each layer heavily with salt (I go easy on the salt). Add ice water just to cover and refrigerate several hours. Drain in strainer; wash quickly in running water and drain again. Cover with equal parts oil and vinegar, and marinate several hours. Drain; add 1 cup sour cream and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and paprika. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
(Shared by Pat M.)
Freezer Pickles
Day 1: In a large bowl, combine 7 cups thinly sliced cucumbers, 1 cup chopped onion and 2 tablespoons canning salt. Cover and soak overnight at room temperature.
Day 2: Drain off accumulated salt water (squeeze excess water out) and add 1 cup vinegar, 2 cups sugar and 1 tablespoon celery seed. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
Day 3: Pack in containers and freeze.
(Shared by Judy Johnston, La Crosse)
Cucumber Salad
Thinly slice cucumbers and onions; sprinkle with salt and let stand half a day. Squeeze out the salt water; add Miracle Whip until creamy. Add sugar and vinegar to taste.
(Shared by Judy Johnston, La Crosse)
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