Readers burst dam with beaver tail recipes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/11/2001 (8819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WHAT’S topped with sugar and spice and is oh so nice for dessert? We’re talking about those deep-fried favourites known interchangeably as beaver tails, elephant ears or whale’s tails.

Karen de Groot‘s request for beaver tails was filled by Marie Claire Hennessy. Maureen Kolodie also replied.

Also this week, a summer friendly recipe for White House coleslaw was supplied by former Winnipegger Rae Maciver (now of North Carolina but a faithful reader just the same) in response to a request by Nancy Knight.

Thanks also to Lena Hruden, Leona Shore and Becky Parkes.

In the request department, Kristin Kardal puts out a call for a recipe for a punch that doesn’t require refrigeration. She’d like to prepare it at the beach where refrigerator space is limited, and leave it on the table, adding ice to each glass. Laurine Harmon is after a recipe for salmon patties that calls for canned salmon and mashed potatoes.

Diane Therrien lost a recipe for Caesar salad dressing in which the dry ingredients (Parmesan and spices) were mixed separately and refrigerated until needed. When the salad was prepared, dry ingredients were mixed with egg and vinegar.

Simone Yobleski would appreciate a recipe for Okgroshka soup which contains kvas (a home-made fermented beer made from grain and malt or often from leftover dark bread and sugar and allowed to ferment) and chopped hard-boiled eggs. She recently sampled it at Jane & Paula’s Dunnotar Inn and it brought back fond memories.

Congratulations to swapper Diane Therrien who sent in her recipe request in late June and qualified for the draw for the new cookbook Getting Ya Through the Summer by Sandi Richard.

Please send any requests or responses to Recipe Swap, c/o Ilana Simon, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB R2X 3B6, send a fax to 697-7412 or e-mail to ilana.simon@freepress.mb.ca. Please include name, address and daytime telephone number in case any ingredients or directions must be checked.

Beaver tails

5 teaspoons (25 mL) dry yeast
1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water
pinch of sugar
1/3 cup (75 mL) sugar
1 cup (250 mL) warm milk
1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup (75 mL) oil
1 1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) salt
4 1/4 – 5 cups (1.05 L to 1.25 L) unbleached all-purpose flour
oil for frying
granulated sugar for dusting
cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast, warm water and pinch of sugar. Allow to stand a couple of minutes to allow the yeast to swell and dissolve.

Pinch off a golf ball sized piece of dough. Roll out into an oval and let rest, covered with a tea towel, while you are preparing the remaining dough.

Heat about 4 inches (10-cm) of oil in fryer (a wok works best but you can use a Dutch oven or whatever you usually use for frying). Temperature of the oil should be about 385 F (195 C). Toss in a tiny bit of dough and see if it sizzles and swells immediately. If it does, the oil temperature is where it should be.

Stretch the ovals into a beaver tail, thinning them out and enlarging them as you do, then add the beaver tails to the hot oil, about 1 or 2 at a time.

Turn once to fry until the undersides are deep brown. Lift beaver tails out with tongs and drain on paper towels.

Fill a large bowl with a few cups of white sugar (cinnamon can be added to the sugar). Toss beaver tails in sugar and shake off excess.

Note: These are also delicious served with jam or apple pie filling.

White House coleslaw dressing

Dressing:
1 cup (250 mL) vinegar
3/4 cup (175 mL) oil
1/3 cup (75 mL) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) pepper
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) garlic powder
1 teaspoon (5 mL) dry mustard

Coleslaw:
2 to 3 pounds (1 to 1.5 kg) cabbage, finely sliced
1 to 2 carrots, shredded
3 to 4 green onions, sliced

Combine dressing ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a boil and pour over vegetables in large bowl. Toss well.