Today there are so many types of incredible mixers: mixers with dough hooks, mixers with meat grinders and juicers, hand mixers, immersion blenders. . .
A hundred years ago mixers were a little simpler. According to a 1921 advertisement, a Roberts Lightning Mixer beats everything.
I often make toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch (actually I make grilled cheese sandwiches, but I call them toasted cheese sandwiches), so I was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Hot Toasted Cheese Sandwiches.
The old recipe called for toasting the sandwiches in the oven (or over a coal fire!). It also called for making a cheese filling that contained grated cheese, dry mustard, and paprika – rather than just using slices of cheese.
The sandwiches turned out well. The Hot Toasted Cheese Sandwiches were crisp and toasty, and nice and gooey in the middle. The cheese filling had just a hint of the spices.
Here’s the original recipe:
The recommended way of softening the grated cheese by putting it in a bowl that is then placed over another pan containing hot water seemed very old-fashioned, but I followed the directions and it worked well. The cheese softened quickly so that the spices could be easily stirred into the cheese, and it was very spreadable.
Since I know that cheese contains a lot of salt, I skipped adding salt when I made this recipe. Also, I used a level teaspoon of dry mustard instead of a rounded one that was called for in the recipe.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
1 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar cheese. American would also work well.)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
6 slices bread
butter
Put grated cheese, dry mustard, and paprika into a bowl; stir to mix. Put the bowl in a shallow pan of hot water for 2-3 minutes (or put in the microwave for a few seconds). Once the cheese has begun to soften, stir again to get the spices evenly spread throughout the mixture.
In the meantime, butter the bread on one side. Place three slices on a baking sheet with the buttered side down. Spread the slices with the cheese mixture. Top with the remaining bread slices. The buttered side should be up.
Put under the broiler in the oven, and toast until the bread is lightly browned. Flip the sandwiches and return to broiler. Toast until the second side is lightly browned. Remove from oven and serve.
A Hundred Years Ago hit a milestone today. It’s 10 years old. I did the very first post on January 1, 2011. When I started this blog, my goal was to do it for four years – but I wasn’t sure that it would last more than a month.
My grandmother, Helena Muffly, kept a diary from January 1, 1911- December 31, 1914 when she was a teen living on a farm in central Pennsylvania. The blog’s original purpose was to post my grandmother’s diary entries a hundred years to the day after she wrote them to share with family members. I also often posted additional information to explain and flesh out some of the entries. I planned to do a post every day during the four years of the diary. But, that felt very ambitious to me – and I thought I’d burn out quickly.
Was I ever wrong-
I had a blast researching and preparing the posts. And, over time more and more people found A Hundred Year Ago, and enjoyed reading about my grandmother’s daily experiences.
After I posted the last diary entry on December 31, 2014, I discovered that I missed blogging. So, about eight month later, I reinvented A Hundred Years Ago as a place to post recipes and other tidbits about food and cooking a hundred years ago. And, the rest is history.
Some of you have been with A Hundred Years Ago since almost the beginning; others have been part of this blogging community for a few years, months, or days. Thank you! I’m humbled by your caring and support across the years. I am so fortunate to have wonderful readers like you.
In case you’re interested, here’s the very first post:
Christmas and New Years Day
Posted on January 1, 2011 by Sheryl
15-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Mid ice and snow,
and wintry glow
The happy new year rings.
So now I’ll commence,
And not with pretense,
My diary of interesting things
Sunday, January 1, 1911: The old year has passed, and the new year is ushered in with its joys and possibilities. To me the old year has been quite a pleasant one. May this year be as pleasant. Christmas brought me no fatal grievances, and it really proved to be enjoyable and merry. I received quite a small number of Christmas presents although none of them were very costly. Judging none of them to exceed the modest price of fifty cents. (By this no one should think I am ungrateful for I really mean to be a grateful girl.)
This afternoon I went to Sunday school and attended catechize after church. On my way home I received a charming new year’s gift. (Thanks to the donor.) The first day of the new year is almost spent and I feel rather sad.
