Virginia Hostess Recipes - Broiled Parm Tomatoes, Baked Pineapple, Vegan Beer Bread and More!

A few years ago I bought my mom a funny little cookbook from a wine store in Virginia called "The Virginia Hostess". It was put out by the Junior Woman's Club of Manassas and was in it's fourth edition. Small and in a spiral notebook, I thought it was cute and had a few interesting recipes in it, despite the fact it had several of those old Jell-o mold recipes where you float fruit in gelatin (a specialty of my maternal grandmother's back in the day).

While home for the holidays, I found it in her kitchen and thumbed through it.

The following are a few of the recipes I'd like to try, so I'm sharing them with everyone in case anyone gets around to trying one of them first! Happy cooking!
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Broiled Parmesan Tomatoes
Serves 6.

1/4 cup butter, melted and divided
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 large peeled tomatoes, cut into 1-inch slices

Mix crumbs and half of butter. Stir in next three ingredients. Brush tomato slices on both sides with remaining butter and dip in crumb mixture. Arrange tomato slices on cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil. Broil 5-6 inches below heat source until lightly browned and warmed through. Turn carefully and brown on other side.


Mexican Baked Pineapple
Serves 4.

1 (20-oz) can crushed pineapple
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons regular tapioca

Mix all ingredients. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 1 hour.



Lemon Curd Tartlets
Fills about 10 pastry shells.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
Grated rind of 3 lemons
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Prepared pastry shells
Whipped topping or meringue (optional)

Melt first four ingredients in top of double broiler. Beat eggs slightly and add to mixture. Cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Add cornstarch and blend well with whisk. Lemon curd will thicken as it cools.

Just before serving pour into pastry shells and top with whipped topping or meringue.



Jalapeno Cornbread

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated Longhorn cheese
1 cup grated onion
5 large jalapenos, finely chopped and de-seeded
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 1/2 oz) can cream style corn or 3 ears fresh corn, cut and scraped from cob

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Mix together first three ingredients. Stir in cheese, onion and jalapenos. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

May also be baked in mini muffin tins for 10 to 15 minutes.



Stuffed Avocado Salad
Serves 6.

3 fresh avocados, ripe but still has strong skin
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (4-oz) can green chilies, drained and seeded
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1/4 tsp garlic salt
Dash red pepper sauce
Dash ground cardamon
Dash vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1 (3-oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 small head lettuce, shredded
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

Cut avocados in half. Scoop out and reserve pulp, leaving shell intact. Mix next seven ingredients in blender. Add cream cheese and avocado pulp and blend until smooth. Spoon cheese mixture into shells. Arrange on 6 lettuce lined plates. Garnish with chopped tomatoes.



Vegan Beer Bread
1 loaf.

3 cups self-rising flour (or 3 cups all-purpose flour plus 4 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp salt)
3 Tbl sugar
1 (12-oz) beer, at room temperature

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat 10 times by hand (until thoroughly mixed but still somewhat rough and lumpy, do NOT overmix). Bake 1 hour in gread loaf ban. May drizzle butter on top when half-baked. Slices best when cooled completely.



Seven Layer Cookies
*I made these for a cookie exchange party and they were a HUGE hit*
24 cookies.


1/2 cup margarine/butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1 (6-oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (6-oz) package butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Pour melted butter in 9x13-inch pan. Layer graham cracker crumbs, coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and nuts. Drizzle condensed milk over top. Back at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cut while warm.