I’m currently planning my Thanksgiving menu, and trying to decide if I want to pull in some hundred-year-old recipes. The Thanksgiving menus in the November, 1924 issue of American Cookery give lots of options. Cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie – yes. Brussels sprouts, stuffed olives – maybe; Roast squabs with peanut stuffing, Roquefort cheese – no. By the way, what are bent crackers?
Interesting that Turkey is no where to be found on the menus?
I don’t know what bent crackers are; perhaps a brand name?
I see the turkey now on the elaborate menu; it was quite early, I guess I wasn’t fully awake yet!
I’m guessing that turkeys were expensive so they were only included in the elaborate menu.
What caught my eye was the game course in the elaborate dinner: venison after turkey after crab bisque? I feel stuffed, just reading that!
I guess that people have been overeating on Thanksgiving for a long time.
Well, the elaborate meal is too elaborate, and the small home dinner too small. I guess turkey was always at the center of the table!
Is the cookbook New England based? We had Bent crackers here, a brand, but I haven’t seen them for ages.
Wow, I’m amazed that you were able to key in on this being from New England. I got these menus from American Cookery magazine. The subheading of the magazine says ” formerly the Boston Cooking-School Magazine.”
The Bent crackers gave it away!
I’m not seeing any cornbread dressing! But I did see turkey on the last menu.
No cornbread dressing. It’s not the same, but that turkey does have an Oyster and Chestnut Stuffing.
I looked up Bent crackers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._H._Bent_Company. Not as weird as they sound!
Thanks for finding this. The article was really interesting. I not only learned that Bent crackers were a “water cracker” but also that water crackers are made with flour and water, and were originally developed so they won’t deteriorate during a long sea voyage.
It makes sense, doesn’t it? And it’s true. Crackers that have lurked in the back of a cupboard can be so much more easily revived if they’re water-cracker style.
Good point – I never thought about that before.
So an etiquette point I have never been sure of with the large menus is this:
As a guest where you offered options such as soup or fruit cup ?
Turkey or venison?
Or where you suppose to take a bite of each?
hmm. . . no idea. Maybe guests just took the foods they wanted and passed the others on – though it seems like there might be a fruit cup or bowl of soup at each place setting.
What is New Sauerkraut? Not fermented? The potato puffs and balls sound good. I have my Dad’s Navy menu from WWII when he was stateside. Dessert included cigarettes.
I have no idea what New Sauerkraut is, but a hundred-year-old recipe that I’ve made several times called Cabbage with Caraway Seeds tastes sort of like saurkraut, so maybe it is something like that. It is cooked cabbage with vinegar.
I also once made a hundred-year-old Potato Puffs recipe. It was very good.
Thanks for the recipe. I’ll have to try them. My Mom made potato cakes in a fry pan with left-overs.
I’m also going to have to make Potato Puffs. I originally made that recipe eight years ago, and had almost forgotten about it until you mentioned them in your comment.
My mother also made potato cakes in a fry pan with left-overs. I always really liked them.
Wow – wonder where you shopped in the 1920’s for all those ingredients!
I’m guessing that stores in larger towns and cities back then probably sold more things than what we tend to think they would have had.
I am sticking to family favorites.
No Roast Squabs with Peanut Stuffing? 🙂
I think I will pass.
Hehe! Obviously Turkey was a luxury item as was venison… the poor folk ate chicken. The squabs are tiny little things that would mean you’d fill up on the stuffed tomatoes, Brussel Sprouts, and the desserts! My Thanksgiving menu is pretty set – roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole (as featured here), rolls, and pumpkin pie and the alternative apple cranberry pie for the pumpkin adverse….
I like your menu – including the sweet potato casserole. 🙂
I’ll let you know how it goes over – Sparky is a traditionalist so a change in the menu might be a hard sell for him! The rest of the family is definitely on board… There may be some wrangling as I know son#1’s bourbon glazed sweet potatoes were a hit several years ago!
potato balls? tomatoes stuffed with mushrooms? Boiled cauliflower? hehehe … :=) sounds well interesting… cheers sherry