HOLIDAY FLAVORS: Annie Ruth Flanigan has a talent for taste

ALBANY — Annie Ruth Flanigan remembers the first thing she ever cooked by herself. It was biscuits from scratch. “You know,” she said, “there was no self-rising flour back then, so baking soda had to be added to the flour. I used too much (baking soda) and the biscuits didn’t taste all that good.”

Flanigan, a long-time contributor to The Albany Herald’s annual Holiday Flavors recipe collections, said after she married and had children, she cooked biscuits every single morning. “The kids lost interest in this breakfast staple when they were teenagers,” she said. “I still cook biscuits for myself occasionally and freeze the extras.”

Flanigan’s mother died when Annie Ruth was just a girl of 12. Her father remarried a few years later. “My stepmother was a wonderful cook and taught me much of what I know about cooking,” she said.

When choosing recipes to submit to Holiday Flavors, as she’s done since at least 1992, Flanigan keeps a list of submissions every year and tries to make sure she sends in new and different ones from year to year, with occasional repeats of favorites.

Flanigan’s favorite item to cook is a red velvet cake. “I try to cook whatever my kids and grandchildren want when they visit,” she said, adding that while this includes other items, it definitely requires a red velvet cake.

As far as personal favorites, Flanigan loves lasagna, Reese’s cakes and pies, and Snicker Bar pie.

When not cooking, Flanigan ‘s favorite place to eat out is Cracker Barrel. “They have such a variety of choices,” she said.

Flanigan, however, does not spend all her time in the kitchen. Twice a day, once in the morning and once toward evening, she walks a mile on the treadmill. She exercises with a video, too. Flanigan is an avid reader and occupies some of her time working jigsaw puzzles.

Tuesdays, however, are when Flanigan volunteers in the chemotherapy room at Phoebe. For about three hours, her time is spent providing comfort care. She brings blankets when a patient is cold, drinks when a patient is thirsty and sandwiches to those who need a snack. One of the most important things Flanigan does for patients, she says, is simply listen.

“People taking chemo really enjoy talking about everyday things,” she said, “things outside of that room and removed from the disease they are fighting.”

While she didn’t want her age listed, she said she’s been cooking more than 70 years. Her simple advice to a beginner: “Go exactly by the recipe the first time. You can change it up some to suit your taste later.”

Here are some of Flanigan’s recipes that she prepared:

WHITE CRACKER SALAD

Ingredients:

1 sleeve of saltine crackers

3 green spring onions, finely chopped

1 hard boiled egg, chopped

1 large fresh tomato, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

Optional ingredients:

4 (or more) crispy fried bacon strips, drained and crunched up

Walnuts

Grated cheese

Directions:

In a medium bowl, crush the saltines with your hands. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix well and serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers.

HERSHEY’S PECAN PIE

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa

3/4 cup chopped pecans

9-inch unbaked pie shell

Directions:

Melt butter and cocoa in a saucepan. Stir in sugar and beaten eggs. Add pecans. Pour into the pie shell. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.

FUDGE CHEESE CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups Hershey’s chocolate chips

1 (14 oz.) can Eagle brand condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

2 tsp vanilla

3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

4 eggs

Chocolate crumb crust

Directions:

Heat oven to 300. Prepare crust (directions below) and set aside. In saucepan, melt chips, stirring constantly. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add melted chips and remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour into prepared pan (a springform pan does well). Bake 65 minutes or until the center is set. Chill.

Chocolate cream crust: In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa and 1/3 cup melted butter. Press firmly on bottom of springform pan. Pour cream cheese mixture on top of crust.

EASY SMORES

Ingredients:

2 long Graham crackers

Hershey’s chocolate spread

Small marshmallows

Peanut butter

Directions:

Spread the chocolate spread on one cracker. Place marshmallows on top. Bake in oven at 350 until marshmallows are a little brown. Spread second cracker with peanut butter and place on top.