# I'm flabbergasted



## Raindance (Feb 7, 2011)

I was born in 1944, and in the 50's through the 70's, all stewed tomatoes  that I ever heard of were on the sweet side and had bread in them, and scalloped  corn was fairly firm, both dishes tasted great.  I no longer have my 60's recipe  for scalloped corn and wanted some exact measurements for making stewed  tomatoes, so I did some online searches and was amazed to find that these days  lots of people are shocked to think that someone might actually put bread in  stewed tomatoes, and all of the scalloped corn recipes I found had milk and/or 3  eggs.  I tried a few of them, some were runny and the others were like custard,  nothing like the scalloped corn of the past.

 A few online recipes said for scalloped tomatoes to throw some butter, a  little sugar and some bread into a can of stewed tomatoes.  To me, the purpose  of a recipe is to have measurements so you can duplicate it.  Do I put in a  teaspoon of sugar or a cup, a slice of bread or a loaf?  The only thing to do is  experiment and come up with my own recipes.  After all the runny corn I have  been feeding my husband the past 2 weeks, he won't be happy to hear this.


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## Zhizara (Feb 7, 2011)

Welcome to DC.  I wouldn't be surprised if someone here has the recipe you're looking for.  Lots of good cooks here.  There are a couple of scalloped corn recipes.  Just use the search function.


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## Josie1945 (Feb 7, 2011)

Welcome to DC Raindance . I love stewed Tomatoes with bread in them.Usually two slices of white bread. I love 12 grain bread but not in my stewed tomatoes. DH likes a lot of celery and onions in his so I make them his way most of the time. I don't have a recipe for scalloped corn like you are looking for. But I would try a tablespoon of corn starch and see if that helps. Hope you enjoy DC.

Josie


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## CharlieD (Feb 7, 2011)

What is "stewed tomatoes"?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 7, 2011)

Welcome to DC, Raindance!  I hope you can find the help you are looking for. 

Scalloped corn, I would start by sauteeing a drained 15 ounce can of corn, onion,  salt and pepper (if I was feeling adventurous some green and red pepper, too) in butter (about 2 tablespoons).  Once the onion was translucent I would stir in 2 tablespoons of flour and cook another few minutes, just before the flour starts to brown, stirring well.  Add in one cup of 1/2 & 1/2, heat until thickened, add more if you would like it thinner.  To make it truley scalloped, top with browned, seasoned bread crumbs or french fried onions..


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## joesfolk (Feb 7, 2011)

I went through an old cookbook from the 1930's, The New Delineator Cookbook.  I was sure that it would have both of the recipes that you wanted but to my surprise it did not contain either.  There is a recipe for a corn souffle that I suspect may be similar to what you want.  If you would like me to post the recipe just let me know.


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## Hoot (Feb 7, 2011)

I think what you call stewed tomatoes is what we call tomato pudding. It has bread and a small amount of sugar in it. I have never found a written recipe here at the house, but when I was younger it was a frequent dish on the table. Sadly, neither my kids or Mrs Hoot has any interest in tomato pudding.


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## PattY1 (Feb 7, 2011)

I use a can of chopped tomatoes, salt free ones now that they are available. 
1 -2 T sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Start with 1/4 cup chopped onions and green peppers, add more if you like.
Simmer till onion and peppers are cooked, adding additional water as needed.
Mix 1 1/2 T cornstarch with 3 T cold water, stir in, simmer until thick and clear.

I don't know about Scalloped Corn, I have never had it.


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## jabbur (Feb 7, 2011)

Hoot said:


> I think what you call stewed tomatoes is what we call tomato pudding. It has bread and a small amount of sugar in it. I have never found a written recipe here at the house, but when I was younger it was a frequent dish on the table. Sadly, neither my kids or Mrs Hoot has any interest in tomato pudding.



Doing a google search I think Hoot is right.  I think what you are looking for is generally called tomato pudding. Most of the recipes for stewed tomatoes seems more like recipes for cooking tomatoes into something similar to a sauce but thicker. My mom used to love stewed tomatoes.  She would often make the tomato part and then just butter a slice of bread and pour the tomatoes over it and eat it that way.  Here is a recipe that you might want to try to see if it matches your memory.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1940,151178-230200,00.html


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## Constance (Feb 7, 2011)

My ex MIL used to called stewed tomatoes "poor-do" because it was a dish poor people ate a lot. A few tomato plants provided a lot of produce, and they canned what they didn't eat using the open kettle method, which is not approved today.


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## Somebunny (Feb 7, 2011)

Raindance, I grew up eating stewed tomatoes with white bread or toast cubes in it.  Out version was not thickened like a pudding as others have suggested, but the toms were "stewed" down a bit of sugar was added and then the bread cubes just prior to serving.  I suspect that different regions has different versions. The same goes for scalloped corn, the dish I remember my grandmother making for holidays was fairly sturdy but quite creamy.
I'm going to try to find the recipe.  It's funny how these old standby dishes just sort of go away.  I have a hankering now  thanks for the trip down memory lane!

Sent from my iPhone using Cooking


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## ChefJune (Feb 8, 2011)

Hoot said:


> I think what you call stewed tomatoes is what we call tomato pudding. It has bread and a small amount of sugar in it. I have never found a written recipe here at the house, but when I was younger it was a frequent dish on the table. Sadly, neither my kids or Mrs Hoot has any interest in tomato pudding.


 
Not in our family, it wasn't.  Mom used to make stewed tomatoes out of the end of the bushel she always put up every summer.  She'd prep the tomatoes as she did for canning, but would cook them a bit longer, and then put the bread in for the last few minutes.

We loved it when we were little. Not as much as adults, but by then she wasn't putting up tomatoes any more.


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## chopper (Feb 8, 2011)

Constance said:


> My ex MIL used to called stewed tomatoes "poor-do" because it was a dish poor people ate a lot. A few tomato plants provided a lot of produce, and they canned what they didn't eat using the open kettle method, which is not approved today.


 
Now it seems like when there are lots of tomato plants, we end up making salsa! My mom used to make stewed toms that way, but since I wasn't a fan, I don't have the recipe.


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## Norskichick (Feb 9, 2011)

Growing up in the 40's and 50's, my Mother made stewed tomatoes from a pint or quart jar of canned tomatoes, heat until hot and bubbly, add toasted and buttered bread cut into small pieces and add a little butter to the tomatoes for flavor. S&P according to taste.


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## Josie1945 (Feb 9, 2011)

Norskichick said:


> Growing up in the 40's and 50's, my Mother made stewed tomatoes from a pint or quart jar of canned tomatoes, heat until hot and bubbly, add toasted and buttered bread cut into small pieces and add a little butter to the tomatoes for flavor. S&P according to taste.


 

Welcome to DC.

Josie


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## Raindance (Feb 11, 2011)

joesfolk, thanks for the offer to post the corn souffle recipe.  I'd like to take you up on the offer.

Yesterday I tried making scalloped corn from memory, but it tasted like crackers and cream style corn, yuck.  It has been 50 years since I made it using my lost recipe, but now that I think about it, I believe I sauted green pepper and onion in butter, then added some ingredients and cooked it before baking, so I'm still no closer than I was in the beginning.  I did learn that I no longer care much for canned corn, but like fresh or frozen.  I found a scalloped corn recipe online that uses frozen corn and a little evaporated milk.  If it turns out well, I'll post the recipe here.  If not, I'll have to keep looking.

Somebunny, your description of stewed tomatoes sounds a lot like what I remember, but I believe my grandmother use to saute green pepper and onion in butter.  I think the butter gave it a good flavor.  I want to give it a try, if it turns out well, I'll post the recipe here.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who remembers stewed tomatoes with bread.


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## joesfolk (Feb 11, 2011)

Corn Souffle

1 Tbl butter or savory fat
1 Tbl flour
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
pepper
1 pimento
2 c. corn pulp (fresh or canned)
2 eggs

Make a white sauce, using the fat, flour, milk, and seasoning.   Rub the pimento through a sieve and add it to the sauce.  Add the corn to the mixture.   Cool slightly, then add the well-beaten egg-yolks and fold in the stiffly beaten egg-whites.  Turn into a greased baking dish, set the dish in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven until the egg is set. about thirty minutes.

I have never made this recipe myself so I can't even explain it.  I, myself wonder what one pimento is.  Is it one red pepper? ( Maybe it is one roasted rd pepper.) Who knows.  But this is the recipe as I have it.  I hope it helps.


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## Raindance (Feb 12, 2011)

Thank you for posting the recipe, I will try it.  I don't know what 1 pimento is either but one year I planted pimentos and they were exactly like green peppers, but then again I didn't give them time to get red, we used them as green peppers, while still green.  I will use pimentos in a jar, sounds good to me.


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## Zhizara (Feb 12, 2011)

I've been watching this post for the scalloped corn recipe.  I'd really like to make it when you come up with the recipe.


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## Raindance (Feb 12, 2011)

Me too, but I've tried so many corn recipes, I have to wait a few days.  Tomorrow I want to attempt the stewed tomatoes.


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## Silversage (Feb 12, 2011)

You said you were looking for an older recipe, so I pulled one of my older editions of Joy of Cooking (1953) and found Scalloped Corn. Maybe this is what you're looking for.  It doesn't appear in any of my later editions.

Preheat oven to 325F

2 cups uncooked corn scraped or cut from the ear
2 beaten eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
(1/4 cup minced, seeded green peppers or chopped olives) optional
3/4 cup cream

Grease a casserole and dust with flour or cheese.  Combine all ingredients and place in prepared pan.  Top with bread crumbs or cheese.  Bake about 1/2 hour.


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## DaveSoMD (Feb 12, 2011)

Yes, there is a sweet pimento pepper. I grew them one year.


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## Kayelle (Feb 12, 2011)

That looks like a really nice recipe, Joesfolk!

Don't know if this corn recipe of mine is anything you'd be interested in, Raindance, but it's a winner.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f18/california-corn-casserole-69483.html


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## Raindance (Feb 12, 2011)

I made stewed tomatoes with lunch, they were just like I remembered, and brought back old memories for my DH.  Instead of trying to adlib every time I make these, I wrote down the recipe.  I am posting it in case anyone is interested.

I used wheat sandwich bread, you can use white.  If you use regular slices, you will probably need to cut it down to 1 1/2 slices instead of 2.  You can also cut down or eliminate the salt if you want and they will still be good.  I used 3 tablespoons of sugar because Grandma use to make it on the sweet side.

Stewed Tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 tbsp. butter
1 can tomatoes (approx. 16 oz.)
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
3 tbsp. sugar
2 slices sandwich bread, each torn into 6 pieces

(If you use whole tomatoes, cut small ones in half and larger ones in fourths.)
In a small, heavy pan, saute the onion and green pepper in butter.  Stir in the tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer over very low heat for 30 min.
Gently stir in the bread and simmer 2 min. more.
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We eat out on Sundays, but maybe Monday I will do another scalloped corn experiment.  Thanks for posting the recipes.  Because of them I will be using frozen kernels, defrosting them and putting them in the food processor to use in place of cream style corn.  I wouldn't have thought of doing that on my own.  I think that will give it an even better taste than the 1950's recipe that called for canned.


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## Raindance (Feb 13, 2011)

I decided to bite the bullet and do the scalloped corn today because tomorrow I want to make a pot of pinto beans, some fried potatoes and cornbread.  The verdict on the recipe below is that it isn't runny like most of the other recipes I tried, it tastes pretty good, it uses frozen corn instead of canned, which is a plus, so I will stop searching for that old scalloped corn recipe, or any other corn recipe, for that matter.  There may be a day in the far and distant future when I try making this without the cracker crumbs on top.  After all this experimentation, I am sick of corn like you wouldn't believe... but we sure enjoyed the stewed tomatoes.

Scalloped Corn
(Serves 6)

1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen corn, thawed
1 egg
4 tablespoons butter, melted
19 saltine cracker squares, coarsely crushed

In a nonstick skillet, saute green pepper and onion in 4 tablespoons butter until tender.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, paprika and pepper.  Stir in the milk until smooth, then stir in the mustard.  Add mixture to skillet, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook and stir until thickened.  Remove from heat, stir in the corn, then the egg.  Pour into a buttered 9" square pan.

Combine crackers and melted butter, sprinkle over the corn mixture.
Bake 30 minutes or until crackers are lightly browned.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


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## Zhizara (Feb 13, 2011)

Raindance said:


> ...  There may be a day in the far and distant future when I try making this without the cracker crumbs on top...



Just a thought Raindance.  You might like Ritz type crackers better.  I think I would.  I copied your recipe as well as Kayelle's and will probably develop a slightly different version.  

I hope yours comes out for you.


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## Raindance (Feb 13, 2011)

The truth is this scalloped corn recipe quest has taught me that (in my humble opinion) there is no way to beat fried corn, and that is one dish I already know how to make.


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## Zhizara (Feb 13, 2011)

How do you make fried corn?  Is it a fritter?


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## Raindance (Feb 13, 2011)

Fried Corn

6 ears corn
2 tablespoons bacon drippings or butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper    

Slice the corn from the cob. To get the 'pulp' from the cobs, scrape each cob (downward) with the edge of the knife. Heat the drippings or butter in a heavy skillet. Add the corn and cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the salt, sugar and pepper.


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## Zhizara (Feb 14, 2011)

Thanks, Raindance.  I made a copy and look forward to trying it.  It sounds good as well as easy.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Feb 14, 2011)

My Flabber was gasted when I saw a cook on tripple D parboil then deep fry his cobs, I tried it and it was great.

Ps I love anything  fried I would probably eat my shorts  fried with syrup

PPs I would name the dish Bento Boxers


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## Kayelle (Feb 14, 2011)

@ Bolis !!! ^^



Raindance said:


> Fried Corn
> 
> 6 ears corn
> 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or butter
> ...



LOVE fried corn!! I like pieces of bacon, and chopped bell pepper in mine. 
Can't wait for corn season!


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## Claire (Feb 14, 2011)

What it really comes down to is that old, home-cooking stuff usually doesn't have recipes, and vary a lot from region to region.  What a Vermont cook in 1900 did won't be the same as what a North Carolina cook did in 1920, or an Illinois cook did in 1950, etc. Not only does it vary from region to region, but from what my mom did to what your mom did to what the lady down the street did.  I do so tire of people who say, "this is the right way", and i love this site because we all agree ...heck, try them all and see what we like best, then pass it on.

Speaking of which,there's a question I've been meaning to ask about fried chicken ....


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## Kayelle (Feb 15, 2011)

> Speaking of which,there's a question I've been meaning to ask about fried chicken ....



And the question is................???


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## Claire (Feb 15, 2011)

Oh, gee, I almost forgot I wrote that!  Haha!  The fried chicken question is that when I was a kid in Germany, and then later when hubby and I visited Slovenia, there was fried chicken that was to die for.  The closest I've tasted here is Midwestern broasted chicken.  

This chicken is nothing like battered and fried, or even floured and fried (as my Mom and many friends make).  The skin is much more crispy, thin, and delicate. 

What do they do?


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