Treasure State Table: Spaghetti Cloud Nine, Seafood Puffs, and Peppermint Icebox Cake

We continue to scour Montana’s vintage cookbooks for forgotten dishes of yesteryear. These were gathered, as were so many of the state’s most interesting and daring culinary compositions, in a church cookbook—in this case, Episcopal Cuisine, compiled in 1983 by the Junior Cathedral Guild of St. Peter’s Episcopal Cathedral in Helena, Montana.

We include these here both with a soupçon of winking humor, and with a great big ladle of unfeigned nostalgia for the kinds of food our parents and grandparents used to prepare with love and into which we would tuck happily, brandishing knife and fork. The recipes are reproduced exactly as written.

Seafood Puff

Contributor: Leah Brickett Temperature: 325°F oven

Ingredients:

• 8 slices bread

• 1 can tuna (crab or shrimp)

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 cup celery, chopped

• 2 cups milk

• 4 eggs

• 1 can cream mushroom soup

• Grated cheese

• Paprika

Instructions: In bowl dice half the bread and add tuna, mayonnaise, onion and celery. Spread in 8x14 baking dish. Cover with remaining slices of bread (uncut). Beat eggs and milk, pour over mixture and refrigerate a few hours or overnight. When ready to bake spread on undiluted soup. Sprinkle with grated cheese and enough paprika to make top really red. Bake 1 ½ hours.

Pat’s Cheesy Egg Bake

Contributor: Dorothy Staton Temperature: 350°F oven Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cans cream of chicken soup

• 1 cup milk

• 4 teaspoons instant minced onion

• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard

• 2 cups shredded (1/2 lb.) Swiss cheese or Mozzarella

• 12 whole eggs, not beaten

• 12 inch slices buttered French bread

Instructions: Combine first four ingredients in saucepan and cook till smooth and heated. Remove from stove, stir in cheese till melted. Pour 1 cup of this sauce into each of two 10 x 6 x 2 inch baking dishes. Break six eggs into sauce in each dish. Spoon sauce around eggs. Stand French bread slices around edges of dishes with crusts up. Bake as directed. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Spaghetti Cloud Nine

Contributor: Imogene Peek Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 12 ounce package spaghetti

• 2 small onions, chopped

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 pound ground lean pork

• 1/2 pound ground beef

• 1 can tomato soup

• 1 1/2 cans water

• 1 1/2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 pound cream cheese, cubed

• 1/2 cup mixed ripe and green olives sliced or chopped

• 1/2 cup chopped celery

• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper

• 4-ounce can mushrooms with liquid

• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: Saute onions in oil till transparent. Add pork, beef and garlic. Continue to cook till mixture is very lightly browned. Drain. Add all other ingredients and simmer 1 hour or longer. Boil spaghetti in 3 quarts of water and two teaspoons salt. About 12 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water. Mix sauce with spaghetti and reheat. Pour into 2 quart casserole. Scatter Parmesan cheese and/or buttered crumbs over top. Place in 350 oven 15 or 20 minutes until top is golden.

Peppermint Icebox Cake

Contributor: Kay Gilliam

Ingredients:

• 1 pound vanilla wafers

• 1 pint whipping cream

• 18 marshmallows, cut up

• 1 cup crushed peppermint stick candy

• 1 cup nut meats

Instructions: Crush vanilla wafers. Line pan with half. Whip cream. Add cut up marshmallows, nut meats and crushed candy. Mix well. Pour into crumb lined pan. Top with additional crumbs. Refrigerate or make early and freeze.