IDEA ALLEY Make Oxtail Stew and 1 of 3 Snickers pies

Alley Kats wasted no time responding to Pamela Johnson’s requests for no-bake Snickers pie and oxtail soup.

“I make oxtail stew or soup every winter and it is one of my favorite soups. Something about oxtail gives it a special flavor,” writes Verda Caviness.

Oxtail, for those unfamiliar, is most commonly the tail of beef or veal cattle, but sometimes oxen. Though quite bony and often tough, the meat is very flavorful and ideal for long-cooking stews and braises.

Oxtail Stew

1 large oxtail All-purpose flour Vegetable oil, for browning 2 to 3 cups water 1 tablespoons seasoned salt 1 teaspoon ground black

pepper

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs parsley

1 small onion, chopped ½ cup chopped turnip ¾ cup chopped celery ¾ cup chopped carrots 1 teaspoon Worcestershire

sauce

Dredge the oxtail in flour. Heat just enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a large soup pot over medium heat. Add oxtail and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Add 2 to 3 cups of water, the seasoned salt, black pepper, bay leaf and parsley. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Remove form heat; skim off fat. Return to heat and simmer 2 hours or until meat is tender. Remove oxtail from broth and when cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones. Return meat to broth and add the vegetables. Cook until vegetables are tender. Stir in Worcestershire sauce.

Teresa F. Rich and Caviness shared this version of Snicker Bar pie.

“I have been making this for several years and still have the original tattered recipe I cut out of the paper. It is a favorite of our family,” writes Rich.

Snicker Bar Pie

8 ounces cream cheese

1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar ½ cup peanut butter

5 full size Snickers candy

bars, chopped

1 (16-ounce) carton Cool Whip 2 (6-ounce) chocolate cookie

crusts

Beat cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and peanut butter until creamy. Stir in chopped candy bars. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour into crust. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Makes 2 pies.

“This recipe has been a favorite since I found it,” writes Janet Fifer.

“It always get loads of compliments.”

Fifer notes the original recipe, from shugarysweets.com, made an 8-inch pie, which was too small so she adjusted the recipe to make a 10- inch pie.

Frozen Snicker Pie

10 full size Snickers candy

bars, chopped, divided use ½ cup PLUS 8 teaspoons

creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup heavy cream 1 (16-ounce) carton Cool Whip 1 (10-inch) homemade graham cracker crust (see Editor’s Note)

In a small saucepan, melt 8 of the candy bars, the peanut butter and heavy cream over low heat. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Fold about 10 ounces of the Cool Whip into cooled chocolate mixture. Pour mixture into the graham cracker crust. Cover and freeze for 3 to 4 hours.

To serve, top pie with remaining Cool Whip and sprinkle with the remaining chopped candy bars. Makes 1 (10-inch) pie. Editor’s Note: Fifer did not include a recipe for making the crust. This is from my files. To make a 10-inch graham cracker crust, combine 1 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs, 6 tablespoons melted butter and ¼ to 1/3 cup granulated sugar; mix well. Press firmly in the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch pie plate. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.

“I haven’t tried this but, it was in our church cookbook from Worden Baptist in Bald Knob,” writes Judy Wallace.

“It was submitted by my son-in-law’s mom who has now gone on to be with the Lord.”

No Bake Snicker Pie

1 prepared graham cracker

crust

5 full size Snickers candy bars 2 tablespoons milk 8 ounces Cool Whip

1 cup confectioners’ sugar 8 ounces cream cheese

Place snickers and milk in microwavable bowl. Microwave and stir at one minute intervals until candy is melted and able to be stirred. Pour melted candy into crust.

In mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth and add powdered sugar and half of the Cool Whip. Pour on top of candy mixture and top whole pie with remaining Cool Whip.

Chill at least 30 minutes before serving.

REQUEST

■ Koehler’s Bakery strawberry cake for Pete Stabnick. Send recipe contributions, requests and culinary questions to Kelly Brant, Idea Alley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203; email:

kbrant@arkansasonline.com Please include a daytime phone number.