From the Farm: Puff pastry recipe at birthday gathering has long family history

Last weekend included a special birthday celebration in the gathering hall at our small farm church in San Pierre.

Our family friend and neighbor “Sis” Scutchfield celebrated her 80th birthday with a party hosted by her children Jodi, Joel and Jesse.

I forever think of Jodi, four years older than myself and friend and classmate of my sister Pam, as being the captain of our cheerleaders’ squad at North Judson-San Pierre High School, and also the president of the student council. Four years after her graduation, I assumed that same mantle of student council president for my 1988 senior year.

Sis has many reasons to celebrate, including her perseverance through the ups and downs of health worries and family loss, including the passing of her beloved husband of 50 years Jim Scutchfield, who was a long-time teacher, specializing in shop and industrial arts for 30 years.

Jim began teaching at Rolling Prairie High School from 1966 to 1968, Lacrosse High School from 1968 to 1975 and finally North Judson-San Pierre High School from 1979 to 2001. He was the assistant principal at North Judson-San Pierre High School from 1983 to 1985 and then principal from 1985 to 1993.

It was in 1964 that Jim married Alexia “Sis” Gryzmalski of Chicago, and she was always at his side for school functions and events. Jim passed away at age 75 a decade ago in March 2014. Sis has always been active in the community and was even on the same team as my mom for our town’s ladies Wednesday night bowling league.

Jodi, who now lives with her family in Chicago, began her cheerleading days as a member of the San Pierre Elementary School Bulldogs cheerleader team, along with my sister Pam in the late 1970s. While back in town to host her mom’s birthday party, Jodi and her brother Joel paid a visit to the former San Pierre Elementary School building, which closed in May 2010.

Jodi wrote me a note this week describing her impromptu visit to the elementary school building of our youth.

“I want to thank you for attending my mom’s birthday party and it was so great to also catch up with your mom too,” Jodi wrote.

“On a completely different note, after we went to All Saints Catholic Church Hall to prepare for Mom’s party, Joel and I drove by the old school in San Pierre and we were poking around and looking in through the windows. Somebody came up the gravel sidewalk, and I thought we were busted. But it was the cleaning lady. She was very sweet and she let us in, and we looked all around and it was really fun to check out this space now as an adult. I asked her if they ever rented out the gym for events and she said she didn’t think they ever had at this point, but they probably could be interested. I was just thinking it might be fun to have the annual San Pierre Alumni Banquet and annual reunion in the gym at the old school. I have a contact information card and will send you that information. I know you were once president of the San Pierre Alumni Association but I’m not sure if you are still in charge of this or not. I did hear that it’s on the books for this April, so maybe it doesn’t work to have the reunion in the school for this year, but maybe in the future it might be kind of fun to do that. I just thought I would pass that along.”

Jodi also passed along her mom’s ages’ old prized recipe for a delicious puff pastry, which Jodi and her siblings recall enjoying in their youth. She used her mom’s preserved yellowed recipe card to make the pastry to serve at her mom’s Saturday birthday gathering, and she also shared a copy with me to include in my column.

It was a decade ago in April 2014 I shared a similar puff pastry recipe in my column and later published in my 2019 “Back From the Farm” cookbook, with the recipe having the distinction of being the favorite of Pope John Paul II. Fluffy, sweet cream-filled and served as a coffeecake pastry called Kremowka (pronounced krem-OOV-ka), the version now provided by Jodi and Sis is far simpler, with a glaze topping rather than including an inside filling layer.

Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa @comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.

Sis’ Danish Puff Pastry

Makes two pastries and 14 servings

Pastry dough layers:

1/2 cup butter, softened plus 1 stick of butter, plus 2 tablespoons, divided use

2 cups flour, divided use

2-3 tablespoons water plus 1 cup of water, divided use

1 tablespoon almond extract

3 eggs

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup crushed walnuts

Directions:

1.       In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of softened butter with 1 cup of flour and cut together, including 2-3 tablespoons water to create a dough. Divide dough evenly spread on two cookie baking sheets.

2.       In a saucepan, add 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil.

3.       Add to saucepan 1 tablespoon almond extract and 1 cup of flour, and over medium heat, stir until the mixture sticks together. Remove from heat and add the 3 eggs and beat until glossy and combined.

4.       Split mixture in half and spread evenly over each of the dough layers on the baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

5.       To make glaze, in a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons softened butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons warm water and mix well.

6.       Remove pastry from oven and allow to cool slightly before covering with glaze and garnishing with crushed walnuts.