COOK'S CORNER
Forget Monty's; these fritters come courtesy of a real Conch
By LINDA CICERO
lcicero@MiamiHerald.com
While we've been unable to score on a request for the conch fritter recipe from Monty Trainer's, we have a wonderful version to share from Mary Gonzales, a third-generation Conch who provided her mother's recipe. (For those unfamiliar with the term, a Conch is a native of Key West, aka the Conch Republic. While Mary hasn't lived there for 59 years, she says she will always be a Conch.)
Finding conch can be a challenge outside South Florida and the tropics. Some Italian and Asian markets carry it frozen. We found an online source, freshchoiceseafood.com, offering it fresh for $18.99 a pound plus overnight shipping. In a pinch, you could make this recipe with finely chopped clams or calamari.
Q: Do you have Sue's Spaghetti Sauce recipe? I saw it about 15 years ago in a magazine.
Nicole Fulkerson
A: I'm not sure who Sue was, but I do have a recipe by that name from a booklet published by Creamettes macaroni in the 1980s. Creamettes were patented in 1912 by a Minneapolis grocer, James T. Williams, as the first quick-cooking elbow macaroni.The recipe is for those who like to cook ahead -- It makes 24 servings and includes directions for freezing in batches. This is a meaty sauce with lots of distinctive flavor from the pepperoni and olives.
PINK LADY PIE
Carrie wrote with a whimsical request for a recipe for ''pink lady pie,'' which her grandmother made for tea parties on the summer porch. She described it as airy and tall -- and pink, of course.
Mary Huse of Richville, N.Y., shared the recipe here, noting that readers may want to use pasteurized eggs since the whites are uncooked. Lillian Suarez of Coral Gables sent a similar recipe that substitutes a 4-serving size box of any red-flavored Jell-O for the unflavored gelatin and reduces sugar to ¼ cup.
SLEUTH'S CORNER
Miami Herald dining critic Victoria Pesce Elliott is hoping Cook's Corner sleuths can answer a query submitted to her online forum:
Q: In the mid-1950s there was a casual family restaurant across the street from Fun Fair off the 79th Street Causeway. Can anyone remember the name?
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