Grandma Welsman's Chocolate Icing

I like to make a cake for MDS's birthday. For his 46th birthday, I made this delicious chocolate icing to accompany a yellow layer cake. This recipe comes from Grandma Holmes's recipes, and Grandma Welsman is MDS's great-grandmother. 

This frosting is excellent, especially with yellow cake, but would also work with a nice chocolate cake or on sugar cookies. Although it is called chocolate icing, it is more like a frosting than a standard icing because it does not really harden the way that icings can. On the recipe card photo below, the edits noted are from Grandma Holmes. I used the full recipe amounts to use for a triple layer cake, but the amount can be adjusted as needed. Like many recipes from that time period, it calls for margarine, but I prefer using real butter.

Grandma Welsman's Chocolate Icing 

• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 6 Tbsp. milk
• 3 squares of chocolate
• t tsp. vanilla
• 1 stick butter

Melt chocolate and butter together. Add to sugar, milk, and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread on cake. Enjoy!

Party Beef Balls

I always enjoy meatballs. They are great as an appetizer or as a meal unto themselves. Meatballs all follow a basic recipe but can be modified with seasonings and sauce to have many unique flavors. I found this recipe in Mom's recipe box and thought it would be a great treat. And because the meatballs are made on the stovetop instead of the oven, this recipe is terrific for summertime.

The recipe makes a lot of meatballs and would be great for a party or just a big meal. When I made these meatballs, I had to cook them in the skillet in batches because there were so many. The meatballs could be oven baked in order to cook them all at once. The sauce, made up of a number of ingredients, is especially delicious. The recipe calls for the meatballs to simmer in the sauce for ten minutes, but you could easily let them simmer for longer to absorb the flavor more.

Party Beef Balls 

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• butter or oil for skillet
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. catsup
• 1 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire 

Mix ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, evaporated milk, eggs, salt, and pepper. Form into balls using 1 teaspoon per ball. Brown on all sides in skillet with butter or oil. For the sauce, combine 1 1/2 cup water, brown sugar, chili sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, catsup, ginger, and Worcestershire sauce in a large pan. Cook to boiling. Add meatballs; simmer for ten minutes. Enjoy!

Cardamom Pizzelles

Pizzelles are a summertime favorite because they are delicious cookies that do not require using the oven. Instead, they are made using a pizzelle baker, which looks a lot like a waffle iron. This recipe will make a lot of pizzelles without heating up the kitchen. And because they bake so quickly, it is easy to have pizzelles to feed a bunch even on short notice.

The classic vanilla is always delicious. But I enjoy experimenting with pizzelle flavors. In the past, I have made chocolate, vanilla orange, orange rum, coffee, anise, and chocolate mint. I really like this cardamom pizzelle. Cardamom is not a very commonly used spice, although I frequently use it to flavor my coffee or oatmeal. Cardamom has a distinct taste that can be used in either sweet or savory dishes. 

Cardamom Pizzelles 

• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Add the cooled butter, vanilla, and cardamom. Sift flour and baking powder together; add to the egg mixture. Drop by spoonful onto the heated pizzelle baker. Close to allow the pizzelle to bake, about 1-2 minutes. Remove pizzelles with tongs to a flat surface. Allow to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!