Remembering A Coalcracker in the Kitchen

It’s been a year since NorthCentralPa.com lost a cherished contributor, Lori Fogg. Lori was the creator and mind behind the food blog, Coalcracker in the Kitchen.

Fogg, who had been in ill health for several years, passed away on Aug. 3, 2022.

The blog, which shared Lori’s cooking style that was based on coal-region tradition, is no longer accessible to users. Many of her beloved stories that went along with her recipes are seemingly lost now.

NCPA is calling upon our readers to share with us any stories or recipes you may have saved so that we can continue to share Lori’s legacy.

Born and raised in the coal region of Pennsylvania, Fogg shared easy-to-make and budget-friendly recipes and memories of home with fellow “coalcrackers.” Her recipes celebrated the blending of Eastern European and Pa. Dutch heritage and cuisines in northeast and northcentral Pa.

Fogg also often shared the memories surrounding the food she grew up with in a small town called Tremont. The area had a population of around 300 residents, with one gas station that sold basic groceries.

PA Eats shared that after World War II, Fogg's parents moved into a house with her grandparents. The house was typical for that of the coal region, with the kitchen was situated at the back. And despite being small, it served as a gathering place for the family. Her most memorable conversations were held around the kitchen table, Fogg recalled.

Fogg remembered her grandmother as often wearing a cotton apron that she would put on whenever they returned home from any activity.

In 2001, Lori and her husband moved to New Hampshire and after a bout of homesickness, Lori created a Facebook page to write about home. She called it Tribute to Anthracite Miners, according to an interview she gave with the Keystone Newsroom.

It was there that she first shared a few recipes from her mother’s and grandmother’s hand-written cookbooks. Readers instantly loved it.

After many requests for more recipes, Fogg created A Coalcracker in the Kitchen, as both a food blog and Facebook page. According to Keystone Newsroom, the website once had a collection of over 200 recipes.

Some of her fan favorites were her chow chow mix, liver and onions, and Irish soda bread.

NCPA’s Brett Crossley once prepared her Irish soda bread recipe for our readers.

https://www.facebook.com/NorthcentralPa/videos/830308930894637/.

With help from the internet search archive, the Wayback Machine, we've managed to find a few recipe clips from Fogg's now-defunct website. Here's a collection of some of the dishes we've found:

Ingredients:

Directions:

Gently rinse liver slices under cold water and place in a medium bowl (cut into smaller pieces if desired). Pour in enough milk to cover. Let stand (about an hour) while preparing onions.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Separate onion slices, sprinkle lightly with salt, and saute them in butter until soft and caramelized.

Remove onions from the pan and melt remaining butter in the skillet.

Season the flour with salt and pepper and put it in a shallow dish or on a plate.

Drain milk from liver and coat the slices in the flour mixture. Gently tap off excess flour.

On medium-high heat, cook the floured slices until nice and brown on the bottom. Turn, and cook on the other side until browned. Add onions on top of liver slices, reduce heat and finish cooking to your taste. Cut a slice of lives with a knife to check level of done-ness. BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERCOOK!

Remove the liver and onions to a plate, cover with foil to keep warm.

On medium-low, scrape up the bits and pieces from the bottom of the pan. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the pan, melt, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons all purpose flour. Whisk the flour and cook for a minute or two.

Slowly add 1 cup beef broth or stock, whisking constantly. Cook until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: Many people also enjoy bacon with their liver, either in place of the onions or in addition to them.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Place ham in a large pot with lid, cover with water, and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook 1-1/2 to 2 hours to get nicely tender ham and a rich broth. Ham hocks may take longer to cook to fall-apart tender, but that is the stage you want them at.

Remove ham from pot, set aside, and allow to cool enough to handle. When cool, pull ham from bone and cut into chunks or pull into shreds.

Taste broth. You want a nice rich broth, if necessary, add some ham bouillon to enrich to your taste.

Place chunks of ham, diced onion, green beans, and potatoes into pot with broth and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook slowly until beans and potatoes are very tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Serve in bowls with plenty of broth and, if desired, vinegar on the side to add to taste.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Spread popcorn on a baking sheet, and place in preheated 200F oven to keep warm.

Butter sides of saucepan. In it combine sugar, water, corn syrup, salt and vinegar. Bring to boil and cook to 250F (hard ball stage).

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla carefully. (This mixture is extremely hot and will burn you easily – use care when handling).

Place the warm popcorn in a large bowl and pour the syrup slowly over the popcorn, stirring and tossing just to coat well. Allow to cool slightly for safe handling.

Butter hands lightly and shape into desired sized popcorn balls. Work quickly at this point! (a helper is very useful)

Wrap in plastic wrap or in decorative bags with ribbon when completely cooled.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Prepare and gather all ingredients and prepare a large low-sided baking sheet by lining with parchment paper, a silicone mat, or lightly buttering surface.

Place sugar, corn syrup, water, and 2 Tablespoon butter in a medium-size heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to boil. Boil without stirring until a candy thermometer reaches 240.

Add peanuts, and cook 2 to 3 more minutes or until temp hits 285 to 290F. (The cooked mixture should be golden brown.) Watch temperature carefully, it can go beyond this quickly and ruin your batch.

Remove from heat, and stir in baking soda, salt and vanilla extract. Be careful, mixture can bubble up when making these additions and it is VERY HOT!!

Pour mixture onto a prepared metal shallow pan. Quickly spread the brittle by tilting the pan and allowing the mixture to flow across the pan to all edges forming a thin layer.

Allow to stand several minutes or until cooled and hardened. Break into pieces.

Optional: Drizzle with melted chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Grate the potatoes and squeeze out the excess water either by hand or with a towel or cheesecloth. Work quickly to help avoid browning of the potatoes.

Mix squeezed potatoes, eggs, grated onion and enough flour together to make a “batter” that is thick when dropped into the fry pan. (Too wet causes spattering and pancakes will not crisp and brown properly.)

Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per bleenie into the hot oil (don’t put too much oil in the pan; just enough to come up over edges of the bleenies as they fry). When they are lightly browned on one side, gently turn bleenies to fry the other side.

Drain on paper towels before serving.

Serve with salt or vinegar. Good with sour cream, applesauce, or pork & beans.

Notes: Waiting to salt to taste until after frying helps to avoid drawing more moisture from the potatoes, but adding salt to the freshly grated potatoes helps prevent the raw potatoes from turning brown before cooked. You choose. If your batter does get watery while waiting to fry, add some more flour but add carefully because too much flour makes them “pasty.”

Ingredients:

Dough

Filling of your choice (prune and cheese included with this recipe below)

Prune filling

Cheese filling

Directions:

Dough

Soften yeast in warm water.

In large mixing bowl, combine hot milk, sugar, shortening, salt, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Cool to lukewarm (105 to 110F). Stir in 1 cup flour; beat vigorously for 2 minutes. Add softened yeast and eggs; beat well.

Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic ( 6 to 8 minute). You may wind up kneading in 1/3 to 1/2 cup more flour.

Place dough into a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat surface. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel and set in a warm place until dough is doubled in size, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Punch dough down to deflate; divide in half. Cover and allow to rest 10 minutes.

Pinch off and shape each half into 12 balls, roughly the same size. Place the balls 3 inches apart on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets; flatten each ball using the palm of your hand to 3 inches in diameter.

Cover lightly and let rise until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Make a deep depression in the center of each piece of dough using the back of a round tablespoon-size measuring spoon. Fill with filling. Make the depression deep enough that the filling will not run off during baking, but don’t press all the way through the dough.

Bake at 375F for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. May be dusted lightly with confectioners sugar or topped with a glaze made from confectioners sugar with enough milk added to attain a consistency than can be drizzled from a spoon, if desired.

Prune filling

Place 1 1/2 cups prunes in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them about 1 inch above their surface.

Cover, then bring to boil; reduce to simmer and cook 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

When cool enough to handle, pit prunes and chop. Stir in the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, mix well. Set aside to cool completely.

Cheese filling

Press the drained cottage cheese through a fine sieve or process in a small food processor. Combine with the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and raisins and stir until blended. Set aside until ready to use.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Toast nuts in a small, dry frying pan, stirring often, over medium heat until they smell toasted. Be careful not to burn. Remove from pan into dish. Set aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 7- x 3-inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger; stir in the cooled, toasted pecans. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula until just blended. Divide the batter evenly into the three prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes in pre-heated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove to rack and allow to cool 15 minutes in pans. Carefully turn out and place each loaf on its side on cooling rack. Cool completely before cutting; best made a day in advance of serving. Freezes well; wrap tightly in plastic wrap then foil.

Thaw before serving.

Notes: You can use walnuts in place of the pecans or use 1 cup of either golden raisins, finely diced apples, or chocolate chips as a substitute for the nuts, if desired.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Lay molds on flat surface.

Lubricate lightly by brushing with olive oil.

Use clamps or heavy rubber bands to secure mold halves together.

Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in a sauce pan large enough to allow boiling of the syrup.

Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, without touching the pan’s bottom. Stir to get sugar dissolved and to prevent scorching stopping the stirring once the mixture comes to a boil.

DO NOT STIR and bring the mixture up to 260F degrees.

At this point, add several drops of candy colorant, if desired. Still DO NOT STIR. Boiling will distribute the colorant naturally. (Stirring at any point in the process can cloud the candy.) Adding no color will make yellow candy.

Bring up to 300F degrees.

Remove from heat. – CAUTION – The mixture is EXTREMELY HOT! Handle with utmost care!!

CAREFULLY pour into molds that have been prepared ahead. TIP: Sit the molds on a baking sheet with low sides to catch and drips, spills, or overflow of the hot syrup.

Remove from molds when the candy gets hard by removing the bands holding the mold pieces together and using the tip of a knife to loosen the candy if necessary. it does not take long for the candy to harden; from a few minutes up depending on the size of the mold.

Wipe off any excess olive oil with a lint free cotton kitchen towel.

Trim any sharp edges with a rasp or knife.

Ingredients:

Halushki (Dumplings)

Directions:

Slice the onions and cut up the cabbage in the same fashion.

Melt butter in skillet. Add cut up onions and cabbage. Cook over medium heat for approximately 30 minutes, or until browned/caramelized. Add cooked dumplings. Toss well, serve hot.

Halusky

Mix flour, eggs, salt and water. Beat well until you have a medium stiff dough.

Place dough on a plate and drop by spoonfuls into a pot of boiling salted water. Cook for 5-7 minutes.

Strain and rinse with cold water.

Place in pot with cabbage mixture. Mix well.

Let us know if you have any saved recipes or favorite stories about A Coalcracker in the Kitchen and we'll continue to share them!

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