We had friends over for dinner last week-end. I wanted to make a tasty dessert that made a lovely presentation, and that was relatively easy to prepare (and, of course, it had to be a hundred-year-old recipe). I flipped through my old cookbooks and found a recipe for Apricot Torte (Apricot Upside Down Cake) in a church cookbook from Culbertson, Nebraska that looked like it might fit the bill.
This recipe is a winner. I feel certain that I will make it again. The Apricot Torte (Apricot Upside Cake) looked wonderful, and tasted even better. It only took me a few minutes to prepare the cake batter and arrange apricot halves and chopped walnuts for the topping, and then it baked in the oven while I set the table and did other things to prepare for the dinner.
Here’s the original recipe:
Methodist Ladies Aid Cook Book (Culbertson, NE: 1926)
I’m clueless how much butter is in a “cube” of butter. I decided to use 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, and that worked well.
I interpreted a “heaping teaspoon baking powder” to be 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder.
Step 2. Melt 1/2 cup butter in an oven-proof skillet that is about 10-inches in diameter; add brown sugar and stir. Remove from heat, and evenly space the apricot halves (cut side facing up) in the skillet. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts around the apricot halves. Set aside.
Step 3. Put the egg, sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter in a mixing bowl; beat until mixed. Add the milk, flour, and baking powder; beat until smooth.
Step. 4. Evenly pour the batter over the apricots and walnuts.
Step. 5. Put in oven and bake until a wooden pick comes out clean (about 35-45 minutes). Remove from oven. Let partially cool for 10 minutes, then invert the skillet on the serving plate.
I recently came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Tuna Souffle, and decided to try it. The recipe called for separating the eggs and stiffly beating the egg whites, then folding them into a white sauce and tuna mixture which is baked.
The Tuna Souffle was tasty. When I made this recipe, the tuna became the bottom layer of the souffle. It was topped by a light souffle topping. My husband said it was “good” which is a high compliment from him.
Here is the original recipe:
Source: Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book (1926)
I used one can of tuna when I made this recipe. That is less tuna than the original recipe called for, but the recipe turned out fine. The size of tuna cans have decreased over the years. I think that a can of tuna in 1926 may have contained about 1 cup of tuna. Today, many cans of tuna contain 5 ounces, which is less than 1 cup.
The recipe called for a “hot” oven. I interpreted this to mean 400° F.
Step 2. Melt the butter in a skillet using medium heat. Stir in the flour and salt, then gradually add the milk while stirring constantly. Continue stirring and cooking until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add tuna, flake and stir to combine.
Step 3. Put egg yolks in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot mixture into dish with egg yolk, stir quickly. (The egg is first combined with a little of the hot mixture to prevent it from turning into scrambled eggs when introduced into the hot combination.) Add egg mixture to the remaining hot mixture in the saucepan; stir. Set aside.
Step 4. Put egg whites in a bowl; beat until stiff peaks form.
Step 5. Fold the beaten egg whites into the tuna mixture.
Step 6. Pour into a 1-quart baking dish. Put into the oven and bake until set and lightly browned (about 30 minutes.
Rice puddings are a classic comfort food, so I was intrigued when I saw a recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook for Rice Caramel Pudding. I decided to give it a try. The recipe made a baked rice pudding that contained apples. It called for using brown sugar rather than the more typical white sugar.
The Rice Caramel Pudding was rich and sweet with lovely caramel undertones. I used coarsely chopped apples. The apple variety I used softened and lost their shape when cooked. This worked well, though for the apples to be more prominently featured in this recipe, an apple variety could be selected that keeps its shape when cooked and they could be sliced rather than chopped.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Westminster Cook Book 1926 (Cherokee, Iowa)
The recipe called for 1 cup of water. It does not list when the water should be added to the pudding, except to say that water should be added after the rice pudding was put in a baking dish. I found this confusing. It seemed like the 1 cup of water should be stirred into the pudding mixture before it was put in the baking dish (which is what I did), and that the “add water” referred to setting the baking dish in a pan with water so there would be a water bath while it baked. That said, I may not have understood the recipe writer’s directions.
For this recipe, I interpreted a “slow oven” to mean 325° F. I cooked the pudding for about 45 minutes.
1 large apple (2 medium apples), peeled and coarsely chopped or sliced (I chopped the apples.)
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter, softened
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup water + additional water
Step 1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
Step 2. Put apples in a saucepan; add a little water so the apples won’t stick to the pan, then heat with medium heat. Cook until the apples they soften (about 5 – 7 minutes), then remove from heat.
Step 3. Put the brown sugar and flour in a mixing bowl; stir to combine. Then add the butter, rice, cooked apples, water, salt, and vanilla; stir to mix the ingredients.
Step 4. Put the mixture in a 1-quart baking (or similar-sized shallow) baking dish.
Step 5. Set the baking dish in a pan with 1-inch of hot water, then place in oven and bake until the rice pudding is hot and has thickened (approximately 45 minutes).
A few days ago, I colored hard-boiled eggs with my grandchildren. We had lots and lots of fun coloring and decorating the Easter eggs, but we ended up with lots of them. I then needed to figure out how to use all those eggs, which (me being me) sent me to my hundred-year-old cookbooks.
I found two versions of recipes for Egg and Olive Sandwiches, and concluded that they must be good if the cookbook author liked them enough to provide two options. Here are the original recipes:
Source: The New Winston Cook Book of Guaranteed Recipes
I decided to make the first option. The Egg and Olive Sandwiches were wonderful. The egg salad was nicely seasoned, and the olives added additional zest and tanginess.
The recipe does not say whether green or black olives should be used. I decided to go with green olive that were stuffed with pimento. The recipe also does not provide guidance regarding the amounts of olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. I used 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, about 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, and 2 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar. When I made this recipe, I tasted the egg mixture after putting in a little vinegar and thought it seemed a bit bland, so added a little additional vinegar to make it tangier. Similarly, the original amount of olive oil and vinegar that I used was insufficient to make the mixture cling together, so I added a little more.
1/4 teaspoon salt (If the olives are very salty, use a little less salt.)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil + more, if needed
2 1/2 tablespoons vinegar + more, if needed
2 tablespoons chopped green stuffed olives
bread slices
butter, if desired
Step 1. Mash or finely chop the hard-boiled eggs.
Step 2. Add the salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar; stir to combine.
Step 3. Taste the egg mixture. If it does not taste as tangy as desired, add a little more vinegar. If the mixture is not clinging together, add a little additional olive oil and vinegar.
Step 4. Stir in the chopped olives.
Step 5. Spread on slices of bread (buttered, if desired), and top with additional slices of bread.
Occasionally, a hundred-year-old recipe brings back vivid memories. I recently came across a recipe in a 1926 cookbook for a Carrot and Celery Salad. Suddenly long forgotten memories flowed back. Easter dinner and other family gatherings were often held at my parents’ home, and my mother generally served a Carrot Salad. When my brother and I were in elementary school, we assisted in preparing the big meal. Mom always found fun, but easy tasks for us. A favorite kid task was to grate carrots for Carrot Salad.
For some reason, I can’t remember much about those Carrot Salads. I don’t know what the other ingredients were or what they tasted like. I just know that it was fun grating carrots.
In any case, when I saw the old recipe for a Carrot Salad that contained carrots and celery, I immediately knew that I wanted to make it, and I’m glad I did. The Carrot and Celery Salad was quick and easy to make. It only contained three ingredients: grated carrots, chopped celery, and a little mayonnaise to bind everything together.
This salad is a winner. The slight sweetness of the carrots combined with the crunchiness of the celery, and the rich, tanginess of the mayonnaise was delightful.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book (1926)
I decided to put the salad in a bowl rather than on lettuce leaves. The recipe does not provide any details about the salad dressing. The same cookbook also contained another recipe for “Carrot Salads” which suggests that mayonnaise should be used as the salad dressing, so I went with that when updating this recipe. Here is the old Carrot Salads recipe:
Source: Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book (1926)
I was flipped through a hundred-year-old cookbook, and a recipe for Chicken Wiggles caught my eye. What was this food with such a strange name?
I read the recipe, and it was a recipe for creamed chicken, peas, celery, and walnuts. Chicken Wiggles is served on toast (though it would also work well with rice). I’m always looking for tasty lunch foods, so I decided to give the recipe a try.
Chicken Wiggles was delightful. It is somewhat similar to Chicken a la King, but the walnuts added a delightful crunch. And, celery is not typically included in Chicken a la King recipes.
Intrigued by the name, I did an online search for “wiggle recipes” and discovered that there is also a dish called Shrimp Wiggle. Wiggles are quick and easy to prepare. According to The Takeout, the recipe for Shrimp Wiggle was even included in some editions of The Joy of Cooking.
Wiggles were a popular chafing dish food a hundred-year-ago, and college students sometimes made them in their dorm rooms using cans of Sterno, often for late night impromptu parties.
Here is the original recipe:
Source: 1926 cookbook compiled by the Domestic Science Class of the Peoria (IL) Women’s Club
This recipe calls for English walnuts. Years ago, regular walnuts were often referred to as English walnuts to distinguish them from black walnuts.
It worked fine to use egg yolks as the thickening agent in this recipe – though I wondered why flour wasn’t used to make a more typical white sauce. (When egg yolks are used to thicken a sauce, care needs to be used to keep the egg from curdling when added to the hot mixture.) Then I realized that this is a gluten free recipe. Gluten allergies were not a specific identified issue a hundred years ago, but people did more generally recognize food allergies. This recipe makes me wonder if the recipe author was allergic to wheat flour.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Chicken Wiggles (Creamed Chicken with Vegetables and Walnuts
Step 1. Put the cream and milk in a saucepan, and scald using medium heat while stirring continuously.
Step 2. In the meantime, put egg yolks in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk, stir quickly. (The egg is first combined with a little of the hot mixture to prevent it from turning into scrambled eggs when introduced into the hot combination.) Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot mixture in the saucepan; stir.
Step 3. Add butter and salt. Cook until it thickens while stirring continuously.
Step 4. Stir in peas and celery; cook until heated through.
Step 5. Add walnuts; stir, and remove from heat.
Step 6. Serve immediately on toast (Rice could be substituted for the toast.)
Delmonico Potatoes have been around for a long time. They were first served in the 1800s at the Delmonico Restaurant in New York City. Rumor has it that Abraham Lincoln enjoyed eating them at that restaurant. The Delmonico Restaurant has a long history of developing recipes that have stood the test of time. Eggs Benedict, Chicken a la King, and Lobster Newberg were also purportedly first served there.
Delmonico Potatoes are a creamy, cheesy potato dish. As might be anticipated, given its long history, there are lots of variations. Some Delmonico Potato recipes call for shredded potatoes, others for cubed potatoes, and still other recipes call for sliced potatoes. I found a recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook that called for cubed potatoes and a little onion in a rich cheesy sauce, and decided to give it a try. That recipe also called for topping the dish with buttered cracker crumbs.
The recipe was a winner. The cheesy sauce was the perfect consistency – not too juicy and not too thick – and it nicely complemented the potatoes. I had few multi-grain table crackers that that I crushed to make the topping (though I recognize that basic round butter crackers or saltines probably were the type of crackers that were actually used a hundred years ago). I really liked the way they looked and tasted. They added a bit of crunchiness to the dish. I definitely plan on making it again – maybe as soon as next week when my daughter will be visiting.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Pennsylvania State Grange Cook Book (1926)
I think that the name of this recipe is misspelled in the 1926 cookbook, and that it should be “Delmonico Potatoes” rather than “Delmonica Potatoes,” so that is the spelling I used when updating the recipe.
Since I didn’t have 2 cups of left-over potatoes, I peeled and diced 4 medium potatoes. I then covered the potatoes with water and cooked them. After the diced potatoes had softened (about 10-12 minutes), I removed the potatoes from the heat and drained them. I then proceeded with assembling the recipe using the warm potatoes.
This recipe’s directions are a little difficult to understand. One place it calls for 1/4 cup melted butter (and the same sentence also refers to white sauce which would contain butter). Two sentences later, the recipe explains how to make the white sauce, indicating that 2 tablespoons butter should be used. Near the end of the recipe, it indicates that the cracker crumbs are “buttered crumbs.” I interpreted all of this to mean that the white sauce should be made using 2 tablespoons of butter, and that the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter should be melted and the cracker crumbs should then be stirred into the butter.
Over my years of doing this blog, I’ve seen many vague measurement terms (dash, pinch, etc.), but a “shaving” of onion was new for me. I decided to finely chop 3 tablespoons of onion and layer it with the potatoes and cheese – though that may not be exactly the intent of the recipe author.
2 cups potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes), peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons butter + 2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 cups milk
paprika
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (I crushed 5 multi-grain table crackers. Classic round butter crackers would also work well.)
Step 1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
Step 2. Put the diced potatoes in a saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft (about 10-12 minutes). Remove from heat and drain.
Step 3. In the meantime, put 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Stir to coat the cracker crumbs with the butter. Set aside.
Step 4. Additionally, in the meantime, make a white sauce. Using medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in another saucepan. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Slowly add the milk while stirring continuously. Continue stirring until the liquid thickens.
Step 5. Assemble this dish by putting one-third of the cooked diced potatoes in a 1-quart baking dish. Put one-third of the chopped onions on top of the potatoes, then spread one-third of the grated cheese on top of the potatoes and onions. Repeat until all the potatoes, onions, and cheese are layered in the baking dish.
Step 6. Pour the white sauce over the layers in the baking dish, then sprinkle with paprika. Top by spreading the buttered crackers on top.
Step 7. Put in the oven and bake until the dish is hot and bubbly (about 25 – 30 minutes if warm diced potatoes were used; longer if they were cold.)
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
