Green peas are a vegetable I often cook when I’m uninspired, so I was intrigued when I came across a recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook for Green Peas Maitre d’Hotel. It sounded so fancy – and suggested that a boring vegetable could be really special. So I decided to give the recipe a try. The peas are immersed in butter, chopped mint leaves, and lemon juice.
The verdict: Green Peas Maitre d’Hotel were nice with a hint of mint, but the mint taste was very mild and nuanced; and I was a little disappointed that the peas in this recipe seemed very similar to just plain peas.
In a small bowl mix butter, chopped mint, lemon juice, and a dash of salt and pepper.
In the meantime, cook the peas in a small amount of boiling salted water until tender; drain. Then gently stir in the butter mixture. Return to heat until the butter melts, then serve.
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922) published by the First Baptist Church, Alpena, Michigan
Chase and Sanborn Coffee has been around for a long time – though I’m a little confused about why the advertisement refers to the “Seal Brand” or who C. H. McKim was. Since I found this advertisement in an Alpena, Michigan church cookbook, one thought is that maybe C. H. McKim was the proprietor of a store in that town.
I was surprised to recently discover a hundred-year-old recipe for Asparagus with Orange Sauce that called for blood orange. I don’t think that I’ve ever previously seen a recipe for blood orange. The recipe turned out nicely. The sauce had a lovely sunny citrus flavor that nicely complemented the asparagus.
Source: American Cookery (April, 1922)Source: American Cookery (April, 1922)
Until I read this old recipe, I had never realized that blood oranges were considered a spring citrus fruit a hundred years ago.
`Wash and trim asparagus. Put in steamer pan. Add water to bottom, and steam for about 5 minutes or until tender.
In the meantime to make the sauce, combine paprika, salt, grated orange rind, lemon juice, and water in a pan. Bring to a boil using medium heat, boil for several minutes until the volume is reduced by half. Remove from heat.
In a separate pan beat butter until creamy, then add to the grated orange rind and lemon mixture. Next add the egg yolks, one at a time, while beating into the mixture. Set pan with mixture into a pan with hot water. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens, then stir in the juice from the blood orange. To heat, put on medium heat for a few seconds while continuing to stir. Remove from heat and serve over the asparagus.
At potluck dinners when I was young, someone always seemed to bring a salad (or maybe it was a dessert) made with whipped topping, fruit, and marshmallows, so I was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Marshmallow Strawberry Pudding. It looked similar to more modern renditions – but called for real whipped cream.
I tend to think that a dessert made with lots of whipped cream, marshmallows, and sugar may not be particularly healthy, but that said, the Marshmallow Strawberry Pudding was delicious.
1 cup strawberries, sliced (or if small cut in half) + several additional whole strawberries for garnish
1/3 cup small marshmallows, cut in half
1 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat cream until stiff peaks form, then gradually add the sugar and vanilla while continuing to beat. Gently fold in the marshmallows and strawberries. Either put in a large bowl to serve or in individual dishes or cups. Garnish with whole strawberries.
Source: School and Home Cooking (1920) by Carlotta Greer
The 1922 edition of Good Housekeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries has a chapter titled “Kitchen Discoveries.” One of the Discoveries was a suggestion for storing the dishpan:
A Place for the Dishpan
To save reaching under the drainboard to get my dishpan from a nail, which is the usual place for putting it, I have had a shelf built under the drainboard just low enough to take the dishpan. There I keep the dishpan, rinsing pan, and drainer where they may be reached without any effort.
K.S.C., Mass.
This tip left me scratching my head. I couldn’t quite picture how dishpans, rinsing pans, and drainers were stored a hundred years ago. Clearly the typical kitchen sink back then was different from modern ones. And, I’m guessing that many of us don’t regularly use dishpans, rinsing pans, and drainers, which makes it even harder to understand the tip (or the need for it).
Then I remembered a post that I did several years ago where I included a picture of a sink. I found that picture, and though not exactly the same set-up described in the Discovery tip, I think that I have a better understanding of what the author described.
Occasionally, an old recipe surprises me. A hundred-year-old recipe for Sponge Pudding called for putting the pudding mixture in a casserole dish, sitting it in a pan of hot water, and then baking in the oven, I thought that the Sponge Pudding would be a baked custard-style pudding, or maybe similar to the filling of a sponge pie, and decided to give it a try.
The recipe only had five ingredients – sugar, flour milk, eggs, and butter. Most of the ingredients are first cooked on top of the stove, and then stiffly-beaten egg whites are folded in. The mixture is then put in the casserole dish and baked.
A few minutes after I put the Sponge Pudding in the oven, I took a peek and was shocked to discover that the baking mixture had risen several inches above the top edge of the casserole dish – and that I actually was making a souffle-type dessert rather then a custard. I turned the oven light on, and nervously watched the baking Sponge Pudding, fearful it would expand so much that it would spill over and go all over the oven. But, fortunately that didn’t happen, and I soon had a lovely very high lightly-browned dessert.
The Sponge Pudding was delightful – though not even close to what I had been expecting.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922) compiled by the First Baptist Church, Alpena, Michigan
Preheat oven to 425° F. Beat egg whites until stiff; set. aside.
Then in a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until smooth; set aside.
Mix sugar and flour in a small bowl. Gradually stir in the 1/4 cup milk; continue stirring until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
Put the 2 cups milk in a sauce pan, bring to a boil using medium heat while stirring constantly. Put a small amount of the hot milk into the flour and sugar mixture and stir until smooth. Repeat several times until the flour and sugar mixture is fairly thin. Then stir into the boiling milk; continue stirring until the mixture thickens and is smooth. Remove from heat.
Put a small amount of the hot mixture into the bowl with the beaten egg yolks, and immediately stir. Then stir the egg yolk mixture and the butter into the hot thickened milk mixture. Fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture., and then pour into a 2- or 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Put the dish in a pan of hot water and put in the oven. Bake until the pudding rises and is light brown (about 30 – 40 minutes). Remove from oven and serve.
