Old-Fashioned Eggs Beauregard

Eggs Beauregard in baking dish

Many recipes evolve across the years. Eggs Beauregard is a recipe that has changed. According to Wikipedia, it historically was hard boiled eggs in a cream sauce, while it now is generally a dish containing biscuits with gravy, fried eggs, and sausage. However, the recipe for Eggs Beauregard that I found in a hundred-year-old cookbook is made by putting spinach in a cream sauce, adding eggs, and then topping it with cheese. Eggs Beauregard on Toast

I don’t know why the old recipe I found is different from the Wikipedia descriptions of both the old and modern versions of Eggs Beauregard, but I’m glad I made this recipe. It’s a keeper. It’s tasty, and makes a beautiful breakfast or brunch dish.

My husband said that I should make Eggs Beauregard again, which is a high compliment from him.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Eggs Beauregard — Source: Mrs. Peterson’s Simplified Cooking (1926)

When I made this recipe, I assumed that it called for 2 cups of cooked spinach. A 9-ounce bag of fresh spinach makes about 2 cups of cooked spinach. (Frozen or canned spinach could also be used.) It is important to heat whichever type of spinach is used; otherwise, this dish would need to be baked for more than 20 minutes.

The recipe doesn’t call for salt and pepper, but I sprinkled a little on the eggs since eggs are often topped with salt and pepper.

I did not want the eggs to spread out over the spinach, so for each egg, I pushed the spinach aside to make a hole. I used canning jar rings to keep the hole open until I put the egg in it. Once I placed the eggs in the holes, I removed the rings.

Making Eggs Beauregard

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Eggs Beauregard

Servings: 2 - 4
Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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2 cups cooked spinach, chopped (A 9-ounce bag of spinach makes about 2 cups when cooked. Frozen or canned spinach could also be used.)

1 tablespoon butter

3/4 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk

4 eggs

salt and pepper

1/2 cup grated cheese

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Step 2. If using fresh spinach, wash and chop; then put in a pan with the water that is clinging to the spinach. Using medium heat, cook until the spinach wilts. (If using frozen or canned spinach, heat the spinach.) Remove from heat; and, if needed, drain to remove excess liquid.

Step 3. In the meantime, in another pan, using medium heat, melt butter, then stir in the flour. Gradually, add the milk while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the white sauce begins to thicken.

Step 4. Stir the white sauce into the spinach.

Step 5. Put the spinach mixture in a flat baking dish. (A 9 inch by 9 inch works well.)

Step 6. Make four holes in the spinach where the eggs can be placed, then put an egg in each hole. (I used canning jar rings to keep the holes open. Once the eggs were placed in the holes, I removed the rings.) Sprinkle salt and pepper on each egg.

Step 7. Sprinkle with grated cheese, then bake in the oven until the egg whites are opaque and set (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven and serve.

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1926 Dandy and Joy Chopper Advertisements

Dandy Food Chopper Advertisement — Source: American Cookery (October, 1926)

Advertisements in hundred-year-old magazines provide insight into cooking practices and the culture back then. I recently flipped through the October, 1926 issue of American Cookery, and found an advertisement for a Dandy Chopper. Cooks clamped the food choppers onto a table to grind meats and other foods. I flipped a little further and was surprised to find a second advertisement for a food chopper.

Joy Food Chopper Advertisement — Source: American Cookery (October, 1926)

At first, I thought that both advertisements were by the same company, but then I realized that one was for the Dandy Chopper, which was made by the New Standard Corporation in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, while the other was for the Joy Chopper, which was made by the Rollman Manufacturing Company in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.

What the heck? Was Mount Joy the Silicon Valley of food choppers a hundred years ago?

Apricot Torte (Apricot Upside Down Cake)

We had friends over for dinner last week-end. I wanted to make a tasty dessert that made a lovely presentation, and that was relatively easy to prepare (and, of course, it had to be a hundred-year-old recipe). I flipped through my old cookbooks and found a recipe for Apricot Torte (Apricot Upside Down Cake) in a church cookbook from Culbertson, Nebraska that looked like it might fit the bill.

This recipe is a winner. I feel certain that I will make it again. The Apricot Torte (Apricot Upside Cake) looked wonderful, and tasted even better. It only took me a few minutes to prepare the cake batter and arrange apricot halves and chopped walnuts for the topping, and then it baked in the oven while I set the table and did other things to prepare for the dinner.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Apricot Torte (Apricot Upside Down Cake) — Methodist Ladies Aid Cook Book (Culbertson, NE: 1926)

I’m clueless how much butter is in a “cube” of butter. I decided to use 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, and that worked well.

I interpreted a “heaping teaspoon baking powder” to be 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Apricot Torte (Apricot Upside Down Cake

Servings: 8 - 10
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 can apricots (15 – 16 ounce can), drained

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

Step 2. Melt 1/2 cup butter in an oven-proof skillet that is about 10-inches in diameter; add brown sugar and stir. Remove from heat, and evenly space the apricot halves (cut side facing up) in the skillet. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts around the apricot halves. Set aside.

Step 3. Put the egg, sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter in a mixing bowl; beat until mixed. Add the milk, flour, and baking powder; beat until smooth.

Step. 4. Evenly pour the batter over the apricots and walnuts.

Step. 5. Put in oven and bake until a wooden pick comes out clean (about 35-45 minutes). Remove from oven. Let partially cool for 10 minutes, then invert the skillet on the serving plate.

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A Hundred Years Ago and Now: Should You Pick Up a Fork that Dropped?

A fork lying on the floor

When dining at a restaurant or a friend’s home, I have accidently dropped a fork onto the floor more times than I can count. Whenever that happens, I’m not quite sure what to do. Should I dive under the table to retrieve it? . . . If so, should I wipe it off with my napkin and continue using it? . . . or maybe the 5-second rule applies, and I won’t need to wipe it off. (But would others think that is gross?) Or maybe I should ask for another one? . . . but would that call attention to my clumsiness?

I was surprised to discover that this seemingly minor (yet embarrassing issue) was addressed in a hundred-year-old magazine. Which then made me curious about whether the etiquette for dropped forks has changed over the years. Here is what I found.

1926: Dropped Fork Etiquette

Here’s what the hundred-year-old magazine said:

Why Not Pick Up the Fork You Dropped?

Reasons why you should not pick up that fork are: (1) Because you surely would not use it to eat with, would you, after having fallen on the floor, which – no matter how clean – is not assumed to be so clean as the table? (2) Because, relaxed or repealed as many of the old rules are, it is not yet considered polite to clean off with your table napkin, the dirt which (though invisible) has been contacted by the fallen fork from the floor. Nor would it be correct to dip said fork into your water goblet to cleanse it. (3) Because, after picking up the fork, we are blest if we know what on earth you could do with it!

It should not go right from the floor to the table; it should not be washed in the water goblet nor wiped with the dinner napkin. Neither should it be slipped into the pocket of your dinner partner, nor surreptitiously placed on your own lap. Nor should you leave your seat to take it to the sideboard, nor call a maid to relieve you of its burden.

The worst of this repealing of old rules is that many people do not know which are repealable and which are not.

American Cookery (October, 1926)

2026: Dropped Fork Etiquette

According to the Style for Success: Business Image and Etiquette Training website:

Fallen utensils: Anything that falls on the floor should not go back on the table. Get the server’s attention and leave it for them to take care of. They need to get you a new utensil. (If they wipe it off with a napkin, and hand it back to you – they believe bacteria are weenies too and you’re going to the wrong class of restaurants.)

Etiquette for Dropped Forks Has Not Changed

Some etiquette rules have changed over the last hundred years while others haven’t. One that has not changed is that, both then and now, you should not retrieve a dropped fork or other flatware when dining at a restaurant or other sit-down meal. Instead ask for a new utensil.

Old-Fashioned Tuna Souffle

Tuna Souffle

I recently came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Tuna Souffle, and decided to try it. The recipe called for separating the eggs and stiffly beating the egg whites, then folding them into a white sauce and tuna mixture which is baked.

The Tuna Souffle was tasty. When I made this recipe, the tuna became the bottom layer of the souffle. It was topped by a light souffle topping. My husband said it was “good” which is a high compliment from him.

Here is the original recipe:

Recipe for Tuna Souffle — Source: Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book (1926)

I used one can of tuna when I made this recipe. That is less tuna than the original recipe called for, but the recipe turned out fine. The size of tuna cans have decreased over the years. I think that a can of tuna in 1926 may have contained about 1 cup of tuna. Today, many cans of tuna contain 5 ounces, which is less than 1 cup.

The recipe called for a “hot” oven. I interpreted this to mean 400° F.

Tuna Souffle Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Tuna Souffle

Servings: 2 - 3
Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 can (approximately 5 ounce) tuna

3 eggs, separated

Step 1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

Step 2. Melt the butter in a skillet using medium heat. Stir in the flour and salt, then gradually add the milk while stirring constantly. Continue stirring and cooking until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add tuna, flake and stir to combine.

Step 3. Put egg yolks in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot mixture into dish with egg yolk, stir quickly. (The egg is first combined with a little of the hot mixture to prevent it from turning into scrambled eggs when introduced into the hot combination.) Add egg mixture to the remaining hot mixture in the saucepan; stir. Set aside.

Step 4. Put egg whites in a bowl; beat until stiff peaks form.

Step 5. Fold the beaten egg whites into the tuna mixture.

Step 6. Pour into a 1-quart baking dish. Put into the oven and bake until set and lightly browned (about 30 minutes.

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Gas and Electric Stoves Promoted a Hundred Years Ago

audience in auditorium — Source: Mrs. Peterson’s Simplified Cooking (1926)

The potential of various cooking innovations excites cooks, though they often have difficulty deciding whether to actually purchase the latest inventions. They worry about the cost and ease of use, and want to be sure that they will use the new item.

Similarly, a hundred years ago, cooks were excited about gas and electric stoves. Many people still used wood or coal stoves, but there was huge interest in modern stoves. However, cooks were concerned that they might be difficult to use, and that they would not cook foods as well as the familiar wood and coal stoves. Gas and electric stoves were also expensive to purchase (and the electricity or gas needed to operate them was costly).

Utility companies promoted the use of gas and electric stoves to increase demand for their products. For example, People’s Gas Light and Coke Company in Chicago hired Anna Peterson, who hosted the first radio cooking show, as their Director of Home Services. In this role, she conducted popular food demonstrations, often in large auditoriums, using gas stoves. She made food that looked and tasted great, while chatting about the wonders of cooking with gas.

kitchen — Source: Mrs. Peterson’s Simplified Cooking (1926)

Anna Peterson also developed a cookbook, Mrs. Peterson’s Simplified Cooking, which shared her expertise. To take the guesswork out of using a modern stove, the recipes in the cookbook included oven temperatures (which older cookbooks often excluded since people using wood and coal stoves cooked by sensing how hot the fire was, rather than based on temperature), as well as cooking times. The cookbook was very popular. The first edition as published in 1924, the second edition in 1925, and the third edition in 1926. (I have the third edition.)

cookbook cover

Rice Caramel Pudding (with Apples)

Rice puddings are a classic comfort food, so I was intrigued when I saw a recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook for Rice Caramel Pudding. I decided to give it a try. The recipe made a baked rice pudding that contained apples. It called for using brown sugar rather than the more typical white sugar.

The Rice Caramel Pudding was rich and sweet with lovely caramel undertones. I used coarsely chopped apples. The apple variety I used softened and lost their shape when cooked. This worked well, though for the apples to be more prominently featured in this recipe, an apple variety could be selected that keeps its shape when cooked and they could be sliced rather than chopped.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Rice Caramel Pudding (with Apples) — Source: Westminster Cook Book 1926 (Cherokee, Iowa)

The recipe called for 1 cup of water. It does not list when the water should be added to the pudding, except to say that water should be added after the rice pudding was put in a baking dish. I found this confusing. It seemed like the 1 cup of water should be stirred into the pudding mixture before it was put in the baking dish (which is what I did), and that the “add water” referred to setting the baking dish in a pan with water so there would be a water bath while it baked. That said, I may not have understood the recipe writer’s directions.

For this recipe, I interpreted a “slow oven” to mean 325° F. I cooked the pudding for about 45 minutes.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Rice Caramel Pudding (with Apples)

Servings: 5 - 7
Time: 50 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 large apple (2 medium apples), peeled and coarsely chopped or sliced (I chopped the apples.)

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons butter, softened

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup water + additional water

Step 1. Preheat oven to 325° F.

Step 2. Put apples in a saucepan; add a little water so the apples won’t stick to the pan, then heat with medium heat. Cook until the apples they soften (about 5 – 7 minutes), then remove from heat.

Step 3. Put the brown sugar and flour in a mixing bowl; stir to combine. Then add the butter, rice, cooked apples, water, salt, and vanilla; stir to mix the ingredients.

Step 4. Put the mixture in a 1-quart baking (or similar-sized shallow) baking dish.

Step 5. Set the baking dish in a pan with 1-inch of hot water, then place in oven and bake until the rice pudding is hot and has thickened (approximately 45 minutes).

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