1 cup mushrooms, sliced (or 1 8-ounce can of mushrooms)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 eggs
4 slices toast
Put tomato sauce and mushrooms in a skillet. Using medium heat, heat until hot and bubbly, and the mushrooms are tender. Add salt and Worcestershire sauce.
Break eggs into a bowl, and then slip into the hot tomato and mushroom mixture. Break yolks and stir gently until the mixture thickens. Serve on toast.
Every church and community cookbook is unique, and contains many clues about the characteristics of those who compiled the cookbook. I recently came across a hundred-year-old cookbook called the Cement City Cook Book that included fun poems in chapter headings. It was compiled by the First Baptish Church, Alpena, Michigan.
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922)Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922)Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922)
I occasionally see recipes in hundred-year-old cookbooks where the name of the recipe doesn’t seem quite right – and I think that either the spelling of the name has changed across the years, the recipe author didn’t know how to spell, or that there was a typo. This is one of the times. The recipe is for Rice Ressetto, but I think that it is really a tomato risotto recipe.
This dish contained rice, tomatoes, and green peppers. It turned out okay, but was much less spicy than similar recipes typically would be today.
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922) published by First Baptist Church, Alpena, Michigan
I’m not sure how Spanish sweet pepper differs from green pepper, so I only used green pepper when I made the recipe. The ratio of rice to water is less than typical for cooking rice which means that the rice was still semi-firm when prepared. It was quite dry, and did not need to be drained. This semi-cooked rice then absorbed juice from the tomatoes and softened while baking.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Put water in a large saucepan; bring to boil. Stir in rice, butter, salt, and pepper, then put cover on pan and reduce heat to low. Cook for five minutes, then turn off heat. Let rice sit for at least 10 minutes. (The rice will still be somewhat firm.) In the meantime put the tomatoes and green pepper in another saucepan. Heat until hot and bubbly, then stir in the rice. Put into a casserole dish and cover. Heat in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove and serve.
Source: Cement City Cook Book compiled by First Baptist Church, Alpena, Michigan (1922)
I love this 1922 advertisement. I want my kitchen work to be a pleasure. Maybe I need to buy some new kitchen cabinets (and, while I’m at it, maybe I should throw in a new linoleum floor).
I’m always looking for recipes for healthy, easy-to-make homemade salad dressing, so was pleased to find a recipe for Chives Salad Dressing in a hundred-year-old cookbook.
Chives Salad Dressing was a lovely vinaigrette with chopped chives and chopped hard-boiled egg.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Good Housekeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (1922)
Put vegetable oil or olive oil, vinegar, salt, paprika, and white pepper in a small bowl; stir to combine. Add chives and chopped egg. Serve on tomato, lettuce, or other similar salads.
I often hear parents say they are their children’s best teachers. I guess that sentiment has been around for at least a hundred years (and probably a lot longer than that).
Creamed Potatoes are a delightful comfort food, so I was pleased to find a hundred-year-old recipe for Quick Creamed Potatoes.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Mrs. DeGraf’s Cook Book (1922)
I am unclear whether this recipe calls for raw potato slices or previously cooked potato slices. When I made this recipe, I used raw potato slices and had issues with the milk scorching on the bottom of the pan. I tried to gently stir the potato mixture while it was cooking, but it took about 15 minutes for the potatoes to soften and it was really difficult to stir well enough to prevent scorching.
Put potato slices in a bowl; dredge with flour and toss until the potato slices are partially coated with flour. Put in a saucepan and add milk. Gently cook using medium heat until the milk is hot; reduce heat to medium low and continue cook until the potato slices are soft while frequently gently lifting the potato slices and stirring. (Be sure to stir to the very bottom of the pan, since the milk will easily scorch). Remove from heat. Add butter, salt, and pepper; gentry stir to combine. Put in serving dish and sprinkle with parsley.
