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 Jodi Deibert of Mount Pulaski fondly remembers
“Uncle Seig” and his famous dumplings around the holidays. Jodi (Przykopanski)
married into the Deibert family in 1979 and she is now the maker of
the dumplings since “Uncle Seig” has passed on, but she recalls the
story from decades past.
“Uncle Seig was married to my husband Tim’s aunt Verna. Verna was
Tim’s mom’s (Janet Deibert) sister. Verna Manley married Seigal
Rudolph Norrington in 1958 and he started making the dumplings in
the early 60’s.
The dish today would fall under the category of aromatic comfort
food. The family gave it name “Uncle Seig’s Dumplings” and could
hardly wait for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners so they
could eat them. He made them into his upper 80’s but finally stopped
because of Alzheimer’s.
Uncle Seig died on November 8, 2012 at the age of 91.
In continuing the family tradition, Jodi noted the dumplings are
still called “Uncle Seig’s Dumplings.” Although Jodi adds, “As the
years went by, I think Uncle Seig’s taste buds changed. The
dumplings seemed to get a little saltier.”
Uncle Seig’s Dumplings
4 ½ cup flour
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ cup hot chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
Enough additional chicken broth to cook the dumplings in.
Sift flour into large bowl, making a well in the flour.
Add egg, salt and baking powder.
Stir in the 1 ½ cup broth.
Roll out on a floured surface to 1/8” thick and cut into 1”-2”
strips and then into ¾”-1” pieces.
Heat the broth and chicken soup to a boil.
Drop in the dumplings a few at a time and reduce heat to cook at a
low boil until dumplings are tender.
Season to your liking.
Thicken broth with corn starch if necessary.
Kathy (Wilham) Maske of Elkhart shares her family
holiday tradition that includes a side dish centered around jello.
“Every special meal I can remember at my grandma’s house always
included Jello, which seems so odd because I equate jello with
hospital food. We would have orange jello with carrots and pineapple
or red jello with marshmallows or bananas.”
Maske shared some history about her family and the ever-popular
gelatin dessert.
“I guess because my grandparents were raising families during the
depression they made jello. It was cheap and considered a treat,”
said Maske.
Maske shared a family favorite, Cranberry Salad, from her grandma,
Mae Sigrist. “My mom, Selma Wilham, still makes it every
Thanksgiving and my daughter, Katie Florczyk, makes it for her
family, too,” said the kindergarten teacher who grew up in Logan
County and said 4-H was a big part of her childhood.
Fun Fact: Actually, the name Jell-O is a registered trademark of
Kraft Foods.
Cranberry Salad
from Selma Wilham and Mae Sigrist
1 box raspberry Jell-O
1 box lemon or orange Jell-O
3 cups boiling water
2 cups chopped cranberries
2 cups chopped apples
1 cup chopped nuts
1 small can crushed pineapple (keep juice)
1 cup sugar
2 cups chopped celery
Dissolve Jello with boiling water. Let sit until slightly thickened.
Sprinkle sugar on prepared cranberries. Add all ingredients,
including pineapple juice, to Jello mixture. Mix well. Let sit.
Chill and serve.
Janet (Poffenbarger) Cherry spent decades on the farm
in Elkhart and even though she is very modest, her cooking skills
are off the charts. Let’s face it, you have to be a good cook when
you are a farm wife raising a family.
Cherry says, “I can’t remember a time when Mom (Opal Poffenbarger)
didn’t have Scalloped Cabbage on the table for family gatherings or
Christmas. When I married into the Cherry family I took it to one of
our family dinners and it soon became a requested favorite. In fact,
at our Cherry reunion I was kindly told that I was to bring my
Scalloped Cabbage and Red Velvet Cake.” Word has it from Janet’s
daughter, Julie Cooper, that “Mom can’t make enough to satisfy the
Fuiten boys at the family reunion.” Nephews Greg, Kent and
especially Brian really love this casserole.
Scalloped Cabbage
from Janet Cherry
Cut up cabbage and cook until tender and drain WELL
Make White Sauce:
1 cup Milk
2 T Butter
2 T Flour
1/2 t Salt
Cook White Sauce until thick and add Velveeta to taste.
Put cabbage in casserole dish and sprinkle some salt on cabbage and
then pour cheese sauce over it using a fork to move around cabbage
so that the cheese sauce gets mixed.
Top with cut up bread cubes that have been mixed with generous
amounts of melted butter.
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Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and bread crumbs are
golden.
Janet says, “I usually triple the recipe depending on how much
cabbage you cook. I drain the cabbage in a colander while making the
white sauce because you do not want watery cabbage.” Just a few key
cooking tips from one of the best.
The old saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the
tree” rings very true as the next side dish recipe comes from Julie
(Cherry) Cooper. Cooper is Janet Cherry’s daughter and a brilliant
cook in her own right. Although Cooper shared that this particular
recipe originated in the Menard Electric Coop magazine, she has
doctored it through the years to make it uniquely her own. Any good
cook does that, right?! Add a little of this and a little of that.
Or someone doesn’t like this ingredient, so you take it out and put
something else in.
Anyway, this fabulous Loaded Baked Potato Casserole has become
widely known throughout Logan County and is a popular choice for
many to serve at not only family gatherings, but also weddings,
graduation parties and of course, the holidays.
Cooper, a preschool teacher, admits she has done as much as 35
pounds of potatoes at a time and she’s actually fixed this recipe
for four or five graduation parties, two wedding rehearsals and
several other events.
Loaded Baked Potato Casserole
originating from Menard Electric Cooperative's, Illinois Country
Living Magazine
Ingredients needed:
5 pounds of red potatoes, cooked and cubed (skins left on)
1 pound of bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1 pound of cubed cheddar cheese
1 pound of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 medium onion - finely chopped
1 cup regular Hellman’s mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 T minced chives
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
In a large bowl combine potatoes and bacon. In another bowl, combine
the remaining ingredients, then add potato mixture and toss gently.
Transfer to a greased casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees
for 50-60 minutes. Can also be cooked in a crock pot for a few
hours.
Make sure that you boil the potatoes and then cut them up. Do not
use lite or fat free mayo. Must be regular mayo.
Putting a sweet touch at the end of all these great
side dishes is Lincoln’s Shirley Aper. Aper loves to cook and spends
her days in the kitchen baking and making food for family and
friends.
One of Aper’s favorite family side dishes has many names. Some call
it Black Forrest, Dirt Dessert or Oreo Dessert, according to Aper.
Aper sticks with Oreo Dessert and says, “This recipe originally came
from Armington. An aunt of mine, Aunt Edelle, now deceased, always
had an annual Christmas dinner and this was always a big hit. Now I
make it so often for my family and I put it in the freezer and have
it when the grandchildren stop in.”
Oreo Dessert
from Shirley Aper
1 envelope Knox Gelatin and 1 cup Milk - mix and let soak for an
hour
Put in heavy pan and add:
1 cup sugar
2 beaten egg yolks (room temperature - save egg whites)
a pinch of salt
Then stir with a whisk on the stovetop, about 10 minutes in all. Let
cool, as it cools, it thickens. If in a hurry, I often put it in the
refrigerator to cool faster. Stir occasionally. If it gets too
thick, beat with a mixer and add 2 cups whipped cream (I use Cool
Whip).
Add the two beaten eggs whites, and lastly fold in a teaspoon of
vanilla.
Crumb up 10-12 Oreo Sandwiches and put half of them on the bottom of
a 9 x 13 dish. Add the pudding mixture and then put the rest of the
cookie crumbs on the top. Serve chilled.
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