Passing It On: Dobson woman uses her books, recipes to keep her heritage alive

Sometimes Dori Fritzinger is not able to cook because she feels so bad, but she didn't let her illness keep from granting one of her mother's last wishes.

Fritzinger, who lives near Dobson, spent years compiling family recipes into a book, From My Family Recipe Box, that she released at the end of last year. The idea for the book came out of conversations with her mother, Juanita Herbst.

"Mommy and I were talking about saving things for my daughter, Rachel," said Fritzinger, 50. "She said you should put them in a book."

After Herbst died in 1997, Fritzinger eventually started collecting and testing family recipes.

The project dragged on, though, as she worked, raised her kids and ran a small farm. Then two years ago, she was struck with a neurological condition that causes migraines and seizures. Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), also called mini strokes, sometimes leave her partially and temporarily paralyzed and hospitalized her for a week.

But her illness didn't stop her. It encouraged her to finish. "She jumped in with both feet," said her husband, Keith.

"I was determined to do it. So I just pushed on," she said. "A lot of times when things got rough with my migraine condition, this is what got me out of bed."

When Fritzinger didn't feel well, her family often kept the project moving. Keith Fritzinger, loves to bake, so he was able to help with the desserts. Rachel Hurt, Fritzinger's 30-year-old daughter, not only tested recipes, but also edited and designed the book. Even Caitlin, her 10-year-old granddaughter, came up with a multigrain bread recipe to put in the book.

Fritzinger and her immediate family moved to Dobson in 1990 from their native New Jersey. Her parents had retired here, and the Fritzingers decided to follow them, in part because they thought it would be a good place to raise their children.

The family chose a rural spot with plenty of farmland. Fritzinger had grown up on a small farm in New Jersey. They raise laying hens for eggs, goats for milk and cheese, and rabbits as pets. They have apple, peach, plum and pear trees. They also grow all kinds of vegetables.

The family has recently been harvesting cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage, and is getting ready to plant tomatoes, peppers and other summer vegetables.

Her farm life comes up a lot in A Journey Through My Country Life, a collection of articles that Fritzinger also recently published.

Fritzinger dedicated From My Family Recipe Box to her mother, not only because she suggested the idea for the book, but also because her mother instilled in Fritzinger a love of cooking and a pride in what she puts on the table.

"She did all the cooking and canning and the gardens. She was an outstanding cook. She could turn a meal for two or three into a meal for 12 in the blink of an eye," Fritzinger said.

Dori Fritzinger's mother baked bread every day, and Fritzinger loves to bake, too, so the book has nine yeast breads, including Kaiser rolls and cinnamon raisin swirl. It even has some recipes from her mother-in-law, Rose Fritzinger, such as the brownie crunch, a thick cream-cheese brownie with crispy rice cereal on top. Other favorite baked goods include lavender cookies that Dori Fritzinger calls addictive.

Fritzinger updated several old recipes from her maternal grandmother, Bessie Bruce. They include chicken pot pie, carrot cake, and orange-cream cake. Bruce was born in the late 1800s, and later supported her family by baking pies and other foods for local eateries in upstate New York.

Fritzinger loves international food in general and Italian in particular. Fritzinger's hometown included a large Italian-American community, and her book includes a selection of Italian dishes. These include Tuscan bean soup, baked ziti, and linguine with clam sauce.

Other ethnic recipes include Moroccan beef stew, Corfu autumn vegetables, and Brazilian coxinha (deep-fried, battered chicken).

Other favorite recipes include curried green beans, warm Gorgonzola salad, onion soup, and shredded carrot and beet salad.

Fritzinger considers herself an adventurous cook, but she also loves tried-and-true old-fashioned dishes.

"I love trying something new, but there's nothing like a pot roast with potatoes and carrots or fresh baked bread. It goes back to the old memories. It makes you feel loved," she said.

Fritzinger feels strongly about preserving those memories. For her, From My Family Recipe Box is a bit of history that it is important to save.

"If we save our history, we'll have a future," she said. "And cooking is always one of the things we've passed on."

Aunt Lil's Special Onion Soup

Recipe adapted from From My Family Recipe Box. This is one of Dori Fritzinger's favorite soups, a recipe that her aunt used during the holidays.

8 tablespoons butter, divided use

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds Spanish yellow onions, sliced thin

Salt and pepper to taste

1½ teaspoons flour

8 cups beef broth

2 cups water

1 cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio

16 slices of crusty bread, such as French or Italian

2 cloves garlic, halved

4 cups grated Gruyere cheese

1. In a Dutch oven, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil. Add onions and sauté over medium to medium-high heat until translucent.

2. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Uncover, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring until onions are brown. (Watch carefully to make sure onions do not burn.)

3. Stir in flour. Add broth, water and wine. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook on low heat 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until onions cook down and begin to dissolve.

4. Heat broiler. Rub cut sides of garlic on the bread. Cut remaining 2 tablespoons butter into 16 small bits and spread on all the bread slices. Place on a baking sheet and put under the broiler until toasted to a golden brown. Remove from oven.

5. Turn off broiler and turn on oven setting to 450 degrees. Place 8 serving bowls on a large, sturdy baking sheet and fill ¾ full with soup. Float about 2 pieces of toasted bread in each bowl. Top each bowl with some cheese and carefully place in oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Makes 8 servings.

Lavender Cookies

Recipe adapted from From My Family Recipe Box. The lavender blossoms for these cookies can be gathered from the lavender plant, or bought in specialty markets and at such Web sites as www.penzeys.com. The recipe also makes a nice sugar cookie without the lavender. Fritzinger said that this recipe came from her grandmother Bruce's family, which enjoyed afternoon tea.

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon dried lavender blossoms, finely chopped

1½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and lavender until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add flour mixture to lavender mixture and stir until well blended.

2. Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until lightly browned on the edges. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Brownie Crunch

Recipe adapted from From My Family Recipe Box. This recipe from Rose Fritzinger makes thick brownies that are a bit cakey because of the baking powder, but still quite moist and slightly fudgy.

¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, preferably dark

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup light cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup crispy rice cereal

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place 2 sheets of nonstick aluminum foil in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch-square baking pan (or place regular foil in the pan and spray with cooking oil spray).

2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until fully combined. Mix in vanilla. Slowly blend flour mixture into cream-cheese mixture.

3. In a clean, dry bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks begin to form. Fold egg whites into brownie batter. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Combine cereal, powdered sugar and melted butter in a mall bowl. Sprinkle cereal mixture on top of brownie batter.

4. Place pan in middle rack of the oven and bake just until the center sets, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely and cut into 12 pieces.

Makes 12 brownies.

The recipe book

Dori Fritzinger's self-published book From My Family Recipe Box costs $15. A dollar from the sale of each cookbook will go toward Share Our Strength, an organization that fights hunger.

Fritzinger also has self-published a collection of articles titled A Journey Through My Country Life that includes some recipes. It also costs $15.

The books are available at www.amazon.com.