Recipes - Ice Cream Strudel, Tomato Pudding

The recipe, from a 1970s cookbook the Southwest Chapter of Women's American ORT, was published in 2001. The dough, made with ice cream, turns out flaky and crisp. The recipe makes a lot of strudel. What's wonderful is that you can freeze the dough and make one or two rolls, at a time, thawed before baking.

Ice Cream Strudel

Makes about 40 portions

1/2 pound butter or margarine, melted

1/2 pint vanilla ice cream softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups apricot or raspberry preserves or fruit pie filling

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds

1/2 cup raisins or golden currants

1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Confectioners' sugar (optional)

1. Beat butter into ice cream. Add flour a cup at a time and form into a soft ball. Place in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour, until dough is easy to handle. Divide into 4 portions. Roll each into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.

2. Stir the preserves, nuts, raisins, coconut and chips together. Spoon filling onto dough, and roll up each portion as you would a jelly roll, from the long end.

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place rolls on parchment-lined cookie sheet, and slit each roll on the diagonal into about 10 portions. Bake about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Q. My late mother often made what she called "tomato pudding." She served it with grilled cheese sandwiches and it was the best combination you can imagine. I guess the pudding was a side dish, but we all thought we were getting to eat dessert with our dinner!

— Paula, Gene and Rosemary Keene

A. Tomato pudding and grilled cheese sandwiches sounds like an unbeatable combination. The recipe, made with less sugar and lard rather than butter, was a staple during the Depression. This version is from a booklet put out by the Florida Department of Agriculture in 1961, when we weren't worrying much about cholesterol. You could certainly cut back on both the sugar and butter, though I have to admit the original is wonderful!

Tomato Pudding

Makes 8 servings

1 can (16-ounce) tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup stale bread cubes

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the tomatoes into an 8-inch square baking pan. Distribute the bread cubes over the top. Sprinkle with the brown sugar; pour the butter over the top. Bake 50 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly.