Old-fashioned Hawaiian Delight

Hawaiian Delight on plateI remember enjoying cakes with pineapple when I was young, so was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Hawaiian Delight. Hawaiian Delight is a cake that includes a cinnamon and sugar topping – which is then served with crushed pineapple spooned on top of cake pieces.

The recipe was easy to make. The Hawaiian Delight is an old-fashioned classic type of dessert and was quite tasty.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Hawaiian Delight
Source: Good Housekeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (1922)

The list of ingredients for this recipe includes shortening, but the directions refer to butter, so when I updated the recipe, I listed butter rather than shortening. I think that grated canned pineapple is just an older name for crushed pineapple, so I used a can of crushed pineapple. The recipe called for pastry flour, which is difficult to find where I live, so I used all-purpose flour, and it worked fine.

The old recipe said that Hawaiian Delight should be served hot – though I enjoyed it both hot and cold.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Hawaiian Delight

  • Servings: 8 - 10
  • Difficulty: easy
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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 can crushed pineapple, 20 oz.

Preheat oven to 400° F.  Put flour, baking powder, salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, egg, milk, and butter in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Put in a greased and floured 8-inch square cake pan.

Put cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Stir together, then sprinkle the top of the cake batter with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

To serve, cut into squares, and spoon crushed pineapple on top. May be served hot or cold.

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Eggs and Mushrooms on Toast

Eggs and Mushrooms on Toast

I recently came across a recipe for Eggs and Mushrooms in a hundred-year-old cookbook. The Eggs and Mushrooms are served on toast.

The recipe was quick and easy to make – though I found the Eggs and Mushrooms to be a little bland.

Eggs and Mushrooms Recipe
Source: Mrs. DeGraf’s Cookbook (1922)

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Eggs and Mushrooms

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

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.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Hundred-year-old Cookbook Poems

Poem about bread
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922)

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.

Poem about fish
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922)
Poem about doughnuts
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922)
Poem about cookies
Source: Cement City Cook Book (1922)

Old-fashioned Rice Ressetto (Risotto?)

Rice Ressetto (Risotto)

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.

Rice Ressetto (Risotto)
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.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Rice Ressetto (Risotto)

  • Servings: 5 - 7
  • Difficulty: moderate
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1 cup rice

1 cup water

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 pint tomatoes, diced (14.5 ounce can)

1 medium green pepper,  chopped

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.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Chives Salad Dressing

Chives Salad Dressing and Lettuce on Plate

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:

Chives Salad Dressing
Source: Good Housekeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (1922)

I used olive oil when I made this dressing.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Chives Salad Dressing

  • Servings: 4 - 5
  • Difficulty: easy
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3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped

1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped

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.

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