3a - BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

1 pkg (8oz) elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups (8 oz) cheddar cheese, grated
1 large tomato, thickly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Cook macaroni as package label directs; drain.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan. Remoe from heat. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boiling, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer mixture 1 minute. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in 1 + 1/2 cups cheese and the macaroni. Pour into a 1+ 1/2 quart, shallow casserole. Arrange tomato slices over top. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
4. Bake 15 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

2a - BAKED HAM & SCALLOPED POTATOES

BAKED HAM & SCALLOPED POTATOES

6-lb fully cooked bone-in half ham
3 lb potatoes, pared and thinly sliced
4 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
2 + 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons honey or corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Paprika

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Wipe ham with damp paper towels. Place ham on rack in shallow roasting pan.
2. Bake, uncovered, 1 + 1/4 hours.
3. Place potatoes, onions, and 2 teaspoons salt in large sauce-pan; cover with water. Bring to Boiling and boil gently 5 minutes, or until potatoes are just tender. Drain.
4. Melt butter in small sauce pan. Remove from heat. Add flour, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and paprika, and stir until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to gentle boil, stirring constantly; boil gently 3 minutes. Set sauce aside.
5. Remove ham from oven. Increase oven temperature to 400F. Mix brown sugar, honey, and mustard; pat mixture on ham. Insert meat thermometer in center of ham, away from bone.
6. Place ham in center of 3-quart shallow baking dish or shallow casserole. Spoon drained potato mixture around ham. Pour sauce over potato mixture. Sprinkle potatoes with paprika.
7. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 130F and sauce is bubbling.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

1a - BAKED CORN PUDDING

BAKED CORN PUDDING

2 pkg (10 oz size) frozen corn, thawed and drained
3 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon grated onion
1/4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
Dash nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 cups light cream
1 can (4oz) pimientos, drained and coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease a 1+1/2 quart, shallow baking dish.
2. In large bowl, combine corn, eggs, and onion; mix well.
3. Combine flour, salt, pepper, sugar and nutmeg. Stir into corn mixture.
4. Add butter, cream, and pimientos; mix well. Pour into prepared dish. Set dish in pan. Pour hot water into 1-inch depth around dish.
5. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour, or until pudding is firm and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve hot. Cut into squares.
Makes 8 servings.

A - Our Rich Heritage

OUR RICH HERITAGE

American cooking has a long and colorful tradition. When the pilgrims first landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, they found the Indians cooking with such foods as cranberries and pumpkins, corn and maple syrup - foods unknown to Europeans at the time, but now known and cherished throughout the world. At the first Thanksgiving, Pilgrims and Indians joined together to feast on wild turkey and venison.

Over the centuries, as the frontier expanded and the United States grew to be the greatest nation in the world, people from every land emigrated to America, bringing their native recipies with them, adapting them to local and seasonal foods, improvising with new ingredients, experimenting with strange new recipes from foreign shores.

Today American cooking is as varied as the fifty states themselves. And our vast distribution network makes it possible for almost everyone to buy almost anything, any time of the year.

In this section you'll find heirloom recipes that are distinctly American; recipes that have been treasured for generations, carefully preserved on yellowing pages, jealously guarded or proudly passed on from mother to daughter, from neighbor to neighbor. These are the recipes that have that unique "homemade" flavor you remember from grandmother's kitchen. Each recipe has been carefully tested in McCall's kitchens.


Mary Eckley, Food Editor, McCall's Magazine