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Q. I was pleased to see the recipe in your column for coconut tunnel Bundt cake. I have been trying with varied success to make the Tunnel of Fudge cake that used to come as a boxed mix. Can you please print a recipe? It is my son’s favorite.
Ruth Eastenson, Eau Clair, Wisc.
Though Pillsbury no longer makes the cake mix, the Tunnel of Fudge recipe is arguably the most popular one to come out of the Bake-Off contests. It goes back to 1966, when it was the prize winner for Ella Helfrich of Houston, Texas. Here’s the recipe from Pillsbury; there is no separate recipe for the tunnel — “mysteriously develops a ‘tunnel of fudge’ — filling as it bakes. “ Don’t scrimp on the nuts, or it won’t work!
Q. Have you ever heard of chickensketti? (I’m not sure of the spelling). When I was in college I spent part of one summer with my roommate’s family in Louisiana. They made this dish at least once a week and I loved it, though it was nothing like my Italian mama’s chicken cacciatore. For one thing, it was topped with American cheese.
I do indeed know Chicken Spaghetti as made in Louisiana. It has some hallmarks of Creole cooking — chopped celery, bell pepper and onion — and some ingredients gourmands would no doubt shake their heads at, but like you I love it despite my Italian roots! There are many variations on the theme, but this one touches all the bases!
Fruit Salad
Marilyn Smith asked for help re-creating a salad her late neighbor used to make when oranges were ripe on her backyard tree. She described the salad as “bits of orange, tossed greens and crumbled cheese” with a vinaigrette dressing.
Julianna of Key Biscayne says the salad is familiar to her, as it is commonly served in her native Spain. “Most housewives have their own version, but it is really quite simple. We use a more bitter orange and a local cheese rather than what you find here, but otherwise it is easy to duplicate.“ Her recipe calls for blue cheese as a substitute.
Susan Corrigan sent a very different recipe, this one for an orange-flavored fluffy dressing. While Julianna’s salad is a great first course, Corrigan’s would be perfect as either a salad or a dessert alternative.
Corner Feedback
In response to the request for a recipe mimicking the hard-to-find O’Henry candy bar, Renee Falitz let us know about To the Moon in Fort Lauderdale. “I have found the most obscure candy at this store, including Bonamo Turkish Taffy and Bats. I thought everyone knew about this store but I keep seeing suggestions to readers to check the web. It is a destination store. Go to Rosies after for a burger.”
To the Moon was named after the owners’ parents whose names were Ralph and Alice, just like the characters on The Honeymooners, Falitz says, where Ralph, Jackie Gleason’s character, was fond of threatening to send Alice and other perceived miscreants to the moon.
I checked with owner Antonio and he assures me he carries O’Henry bars among the 12,000 items in his store at 2205 Wilton Dr. The store specializes in “every famous hard-to-find candy and bulk candy from 1806 to current day,” that is still being manufactured, along with equally hard to find groceries (such as Junket), soda pop (Moxie), imported foods and collectible toys.
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