Today, let’s focus on salads. Salads that work wonderfully well on the summer picnic table, as well as on the dinner table throughout the year.

These three have been favorites in the Hicks family for several generations.
We frequently had salad when I was a youngster, especially when visiting the dairy-farmer grandparents. They weren’t elaborate or fancy salads, but they were always tasty. And the vegetables were always home-grown.

And that carried over into the next couple of generations. As it turns out, my grandchildren are terrific salad eaters.

First, our broccoli salad. I have no idea if this recipe is similar to broccoli salad recipes held close by other families in York County, or if it’s totally different. All I know is this is pretty much the only broccoli salad I’ve eaten on family occasions for about 50 years. And since I like it so much, I don’t experiment with it.

Anyway, it’s not nearly so difficult to put together as some people might think.

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 bunches of broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• ½ pound bacon, crisped and crumbled into pieces
• 1 cup shredded cheese — mild and sharp cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Longhorn, Colby-Jack. Choose one or blend several together. I usually use three different kinds.

Salad dressing — ½ cup Miracle Whip, ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon cider vinegar.

Then in a large mixing bowl, put together the broccoli, bacon and shredded cheese. Blend well.

The dressing is simple: Mix all three dressing ingredients together and add to salad close to serving time. I think it’s a good idea to keep dressing refrigerated until it’s time to mix with broccoli, bacon and cheese blend.

You’ll notice this recipe doesn’t include diced hard-boiled eggs or raisins, but I happen to like both in my broccoli salad and will frequently (always the raisins — I prefer golden raisins) add them in. Same goes for diced onions, too. I never go that route, but some people do. That’s up to you.

Now if you’re not all that crazy about broccoli salad and want something a little simpler, but as refreshing, you might be interested in our “Hot lettuce and bacon dressing salad” or the simpler “Lettuce dressing” salad.

Ingredients for the “Hot Lettuce and bacon dressing salad”:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• ½ pound bacon, crisped and crumbled (reserve several tablespoons bacon fat)
• 1 head of lettuce or assorted salad greens
• ½ dozen hard-boiled eggs

Mix together the sugar, 1 egg and vinegar in pot, stir and cook until very hot, but not boiling. Add the bacon pieces, plus a couple teaspoons bacon fat. Stir thoroughly.

Then simply pour over chilled lettuce. Add chopped hard-boiled eggs if that’s your preference.

Ingredients for the “Lettuce Dressing” salad are:

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise (heaping)
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• yellow food coloring
• ½ cup milk

Mix together sugar and mayonnaise. Add vinegar (whisking slowly). Add food coloring to your liking — usually only a couple drops necessary. And then very slowly add the milk, blending well.

You’ll notice this recipe does not require any heating on the stove. Chill dressing and add to lettuce or salad greens just before serving. Add chopped hard-boiled eggs if desired.

Cold and refreshing on a hot summer day. A little tart; a little sweet. Great year-round as an addition to a meat and potato dinner or steaks on the grill.
Enjoy one. Enjoy them all.

<ic>Columns by Larry A. Hicks, Dispatch columnist, run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. E-mail: lhicks@yorkdispatch.com.<nm>

Swiss steak has been part of my family’s tradition for four or five generations, at least, though it didn’t originate with my grandmother’s side of the family.

Actually, I never ate Swiss steak, unless it was called something else, until my mother-in-law made it for a family meal more than 45 years ago. I was hooked on it from the very first bite, and I’ve eaten it probably 100 times in the years since.

It’s a family favorite.

My first question about it had to do with its name: Swiss steak. It seemed obvious to me it had something to do with Switzerland — perhaps it originated there.

But no. That’s not the case at all. It has nothing to do with Switzerland.
A little history: Swiss steak, according to my dictionary, is a “thick cut of steak, especially round steak, pounded with flour, browned and cooked slowly, usually with tomatoes, onions, etc.”

But it goes deeper than that. Swiss steak became popular in America back in the 1930’s — around the time of the Great Depression — when money was scarce and few people could afford expensive cuts of meat.

Housewives in those days learned pretty quickly how to make a satisfying meal out of a cheap cut of beef. And it quickly became an American favorite. It basically takes advantage of the “low and slow” cooking process that housewives everywhere have been using for centuries. A tough piece of meat, cooked low and slow, could be transformed into something tender and tasty.

The term “swissing,” by the way, means to beat or to pound, as in a tough piece of meat. Hence the term “Swiss steak.”

Except that I’ve never felt the need to pound my Swiss steak in an attempt to tenderize it. “Low and slow” will work just as well.

I suppose there are lots of different ways to make Swiss steak — I’ve eaten it a half dozen different ways myself. But my favorite still is the one my mother-in-law put on the family table a couple times a month, with a side of mashed potatoes, broccoli and the richest of steak gravy spooned over the top.

Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

My family’s recipe calls for the use of “bottom round” steak, but we’ve used “top round” plenty of times, and it’s all good. But just so you know, there are other cuts of steak — boneless top blade roast, chuck roast first cut, top chuck roast or blade roast — that will work just as well. It’s all pretty much the same cut of meat, but with a different name.

The bottom line is you can use expensive cuts of beef roast or steak to make Swiss steak if you want, but you’ll do just as well if you use the lesser cuts.

Ingredients (six to eight people):

• 4 lbs. bottom round steak
• 1 cup flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 or 2 medium onions

And that’s pretty much it for our family recipe. You really don’t need more than that. But if you check the Internet, you’ll no doubt find a lot of Swiss steak recipes, and most of them will include items you won’t find in my family’s recipe: tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic cloves, diced tomatoes, chicken-broth, parsley and assorted spices, for example.

All of that is fine, just not necessary.

So this is how my family puts it all together. Cut the bottom round into serving-sized pieces. Trim off all of the fat, unless you like eating the cooked fat, in which case leave it on. Our preference is to trim as much fat as possible off the meat. Then we create the dredge by mixing the flour, salt and pepper and completely cover both sides of the meat with it.

Now my mother-in-law always — I mean “always” — used a Guardian Ware roasting pan to make her Swiss steak. It was heavy duty, with a thick bottom, high sides and had a glass lid. I’m not saying that was the reason she made great Swiss steak, but it’s what she used. Nowadays, Swiss steak could just as easily be cooked in a crock pot or slow cooker and get the same results, I’m sure. Or just cook it low and slow on the stovetop in a Dutch oven.

After the meat is dredged, brown it on both sides. Then put water — several inches to cover, a little more if you want a lot of gravy — in the roasting pan/Dutch oven/slow cooker. Wisk some flour in a cup or two of hot water and add to the pot (this is the gravy) right away.

Slice the onions into quarter-inch-thick slices. Lay them on top on the meat. Cover pot with lid.

Then all you do is cook it low and slow. My recipe card says “cook all day.” And that’s literally what we try to do — four, five even six hours, either on the stovetop or in the oven at 250 degrees. The meat will be so tender it’ll melt in your mouth. You won’t even need a fork or knife to cut it.

I promise you this will be a meal to remember, especially if you do the mashed potato thing, too. And if you have leftovers, consider a Swiss steak sandwich the next day for lunch.

<ic>Columns by Larry A. Hicks, Dispatch columnist, run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. E-mail: lhicks@yorkdispatch.com.<nm>

The new glazed doughnut breakfast sandwich from Dunkin’ Donuts. I cut it up in case anyone else wanted to try it. No one did.

Can’t we just let doughnuts be?

On Wednesday’s food page, we ran a story about Dunkin’ Donuts’ new menu item: The glazed doughnut bacon and egg sandwich.

Apparently the chain tested the sandwich in some of their stores in Eastern Massachusetts and it went over well enough to launch nationwide. The sandwich hit stores Thursday.

I was skeptical from the start. I like bacon and I like doughnuts. I can’t say I like the egg because the “egg sponge” (a term coined by Dispatch cops reporter Liz Evans) used by most fast-food chains has never sat well with me. But all of that together? It just didn’t seem that appetizing.

But, as with most things, Dispatch columnist Larry Hicks felt the need to disagree with me when he read the story Tuesday afternoon. He said he thought the sandwich sounded pretty good and even tried to make the (unconvincing) argument that doughnuts and bagels are similar, as many of DD’s sandwiches are served on bagels, so it wasn’t that big of a difference.

WRONG.

Bagels and doughnuts, aside from their shape and size, are two TOTALLY different things. Doughnuts are deep-fried pieces of soft dough ideal for sweet additions like chocolate, jelly and sprinkles. They are just fine on their own. No need to improve them. Bagels, on the other hand, are dense and hearty, perfect for sandwiches of any kind. In fact, given the choice, I would put a sandwich on a bagel over regular bread any day.

But, Hicks was insistent. He told me I needed to try the sandwich before I passed judgment. I told him if he wanted to buy me one, I’d try it, but I wouldn’t waste my own money on such a thing.

Fast forward to this morning when, ironically enough on National Donut Day, Hicks came into the office and handed me a bag from Dunkin’ Donuts. Inside was the doughnut sandwich in question.

I asked Hicks if he had tried it, and he said yes, but he wouldn’t give me his opinion until I tasted it.

So I did.

And it was just as gross as I imagined.

The doughnut was soggy and couldn’t stand up to the egg and bacon. It was also incredibly sticky and after just two bites, I felt like I needed to take a shower. It just wasn’t for me.

And surprisingly, it wasn’t for Larry either.

He claimed that the flavor combination was OK with him, but the soggy, messy doughnut was too much. Plus the $4.75 price tag was a little steep. He even admitted that the doughnut was nothing like a bagel.

So, in not so many words, Hicks admitted I was right. My day is complete.

Have you tried the new DD sandwich? Share your thoughts!

Free food is always a reason to celebrate! Around the country today, people will be indulging in a delicious piece of deep fried dough… and many of them will be doing so for free!

Here in York, if you stop by a local Dunkin’ Donuts, you can get a free donut with any beverage purchase. Also, Good’s Mini Donuts in Central Market will be open this evening as part of York’s First Friday celebrations and to celebrate the holiday. Maple Donuts is not offering any deals today.

Know of someplace else giving out free donuts or offering specials today? Let us know!

We’re not quite in zucchini season yet, but it’ll be on us before we know it.

At least here in York County.

Around these parts, there are really only a couple of things to do with zucchini. You can slice it up, bread it and fry it. Then either eat it on a plate as a vegetable or make a dandy sandwich out of it (with a bit of mustard).

Or you can cut it into cubes, mix it with other vegetables of the season (potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, celery, broccoli, onions, green beans, turnips, etc.), top with seasonings of choice (a little olive oil, salt, pepper, parsley and garlic salt to taste), and steam it on stove or grill. Very tasty.

Or my favorite, you can make zucchini bread.

If I must say so myself, the Hicks family zucchini bread is second to none. I’ve never eaten any better. And no, I didn’t break my arm patting myself on the back. It’s good stuff, darn it. How do I know that? Because my mother told me so.

And I’m more than happy to share the recipe with you.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs (well beaten)
• 2¼ cups sugar (or less, if that’s your preference)
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract (the real stuff)
• 1 cup vegetable oil (or cooking oil of choice)
• 2 cups shredded zucchini (I use a food processor)
• 3 cups flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon

Start by beating the eggs in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, vanilla and oil to the eggs and blend well with a fork. Then stir in the zucchini.

Then on to the dry stuff. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together in one large mixing bowl.

Then you take the dry mixture and stir it into the wet mixture. Now if you’re one of those people who likes nuts in their zucchini bread — walnuts or pecans are the most common nuts of choice, I’m guessing — now is the time to add them to the mix. Small pieces are better than huge pieces. So cut them up a little bit if you’re going to use them at all. And fold them in gently.

You’ll notice there are no nuts listed in the Hicks family recipe. That’s because we prefer our zucchini bread without nuts.

OK, everything is mixed together. Now take two greased and floured loaf pans — the recipe calls for 4-inch X 5-inch pans, but my pans are 4-inch X 8-inch bread pans (metal, not glass) and that’s what I’ve had the most success with. Divide the mixture evenly into whatever pans you decide to use.

And then bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for one hour, or longer if necessary.

In my oven, longer is always necessary. I don’t know why, but the loaves are never done in the middle after one hour. So I let them go until I can push a butter knife in the center of the loaf and it comes out more or less clean. Sometimes this takes as long as another 20 minutes in the oven.

Be careful doing this, however, because in my house we like zucchini bread that’s a little bit heavier, not dry (in other words). We’re shooting for moist here, not the Sahara desert.

Oh, and one more thing. You’ll notice I didn’t say anything about peeling the green outer shell off the zucchini, as you might peel a potato. Our family prefers — for aesthetic reasons and for added flavor and nutrition — leaving the zucchini whole when grating it.

Otherwise, the finished loaf would be one shade of brown. With the peel included, there are flecks of green throughout. Very pretty, if zucchini bread can be pretty. That’s how we like it.

Once done, let the loaves sit in the pan until cooled to touch. Then take a butter knife around the outside edge, turn the pan over and let the zucchini loaf slide out. It does so without fail.

Eat it plain. Eat it with butter/margarine spread over it. Eat it covered with creamed cheese, I guess. My grandkids like it with honey drizzled over it.

Me? I love it just plain, thank you very much.

-You can reach Larry at lhicks@yorkdispatch.com.

Summer will be upon us before we know it, and everyone will be eating cheeseburgers off the grill two at a time.

And then they won’t. If they’re anything like me, they’ll stop because they’ll grow tired of a steady diet of cheeseburgers. No one wants to eat the same thing day after day, weekend after weekend.

So in our family, we change it up just a little bit. Instead of cheeseburgers, we start making meatballs.

A couple different kinds of meatballs, in fact.

Depends on what the situation calls for.

If I’m having a party or anything like a party, my family’s “Swedish” meatballs make a perfect appetizer. I don’t know where the “Swedish” came from in the name on the recipe card, because I doubt there’s anything Swedish about it.

Call it what you will, it’s got a distinct flavor that my family, friends and co-workers seem to enjoy.

Ingredients for Hicks family “Swedish” meatballs:

• 1 lb. ground chuck — an 85-15 blend would be good
• 2 slices white bread (toasted lightly)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ cup water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Red wine

Then use a food processor or roll roughly in your hands the two slices of bread until they are reduced to fine crumbs. Then grate the onion or dice it into the smallest pieces possible. Beat the egg and water together. Add the allspice and salt to the egg/water blend. Combine everything above with the hamburger (ground chuck) and mix thoroughly. I use my hands — it’s messier, but it seems to work best.

Refrigerate the mix for an hour to permit the blending of ingredients.

Then, by hand or with a melon baller, shape the meat into small balls — say about ¾-inch or 1-inch (no bigger) in diameter. Then fry in butter (or margarine if that’s your preference) turning to brown evenly.

Then add red wine to the pan, giving the meatballs a nice soaking bath, before removing them from the pan.

That’s it.

But if our family is looking for something that might serve as the main dish in a meal, an addition to spaghetti or a delicious sandwich filler, we go with the regular meatballs.

Ingredients:

• 5 lb hamburger (again, 85-15 blend works well)
• 2½ cups grated Parmesan cheese. If you like Parmesan, make it 3 cups
• 5 tablespoons parsley
• 5 cups grated (fine) bread crumbs
• 10 eggs (well beaten)
• 2½ cups milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

This will make about 75 meatballs, enough for a large family gathering, or feeding co-workers or having plenty of leftovers. If that’s too many, cut the recipe in half.

Anyway, mix all the ingredients together using your hands. Form into 1½ or 2-inch balls. Brown in a large skillet so you can do a dozen at a time. Keep turning until browned on all sides. Pay attention, no one likes burned meatballs.

Then after all the meatballs are thoroughly cooked, place them in a large pot and simmer in your favorite spaghetti sauce or Ragu for 1½ hours or so over very low heat. Stir occasionally.

By then meatballs should be nicely tender. Good eating in spaghetti. Even better as a meatball sub.

And the nice thing about them is you can put them in a slow cooker to keep warm, and people can go back as often as they like. The perfect party or picnic food.

Like I said, a meatball for every occasion in my family.

You can reach Larry at lhicks@yorkdispatch.com.

June means picnics in the park, graduation parties and barbeques—events where everyone can enjoy refreshing summer drinks.  But traditional summertime drinks are often loaded with hidden calories. For example, a margarita can pack more than 500 calories per glass. A glass of store-bought lemonade can contain up to 27 grams of sugar—that’s more sugar in a single drink than the American Heart Association recommends for an entire day, according to registered dieticians at Hanover Hospital.

During the month of June, Hanover Hospital is unveiling a collection of healthy drinks on the Health eCooking section of the hospital website.  These summery beverages are healthier updates of many traditional favorites, and are perfect for any warm-weather function.

All the Health eCooking  recipes are approved by registered dietitians and tested by professional chefs.  The recipe database also provides a wide range of options for those in search of heart healthy, gluten free or diabetic recipes.

Watermelon Punch

For your next summer party, wow your guests with this refreshing watermelon punch. Serve this easy fruit punch in the watermelon or in a punch bowl.

• 1 large seedless watermelon
• 1 cup brewed Red Zinger or hibiscus tea
• 1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 liter (2 cups) club soda or seltzer water, well chilled

• 1 cup fresh mint (leaves only), plus additional leaves for garnish

Prop the watermelon upright in a large bowl or pot. Slice off the top of the watermelon (while the watermelon is standing upright). With a spoon, scoop out the fruit and juice and transfer to a blender. Add the tea, lime juice and honey to the blender and purée (in two batches if necessary). Add the club soda and 1 cup mint leaves and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve: Fill the hollowed watermelon with ice and the watermelon punch. Serve with a ladle in glasses garnished with additional mint leaves.

Yield: 12 servings

Nutrition Facts (per serving): Calories: 136; Fat: 1g; Saturated Fat: 0; Cholesterol: 0; Sodium: 4mg; Carbohydrates: 35g; Fiber: 8g; Protein: 2g