Vanilla Ice Cream with Marshmallows (c. 1931) ★★★★★
12:00 AM 1930s , 20th century , 4 stars , 4 weeks of yuletide , christmas , dessert , frozen dessert , gluten-free , holiday , interwar , menu , united states 6 Comments

Today I have a menu for "Christmas Dinner," taken from The Settlement Cookbook. This cookbook was originally published in 1901 and was so successful that a further 34 editions were published. Today's excerpt comes from the edition published around 1931, which seems to be one of the more popular editions. In this edition the author, Lizzie Black Kander, includes several menu suggestions, including ones for holidays such as Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Lent, and Washington's Birthday. Since making the whole Christmas menu would be a little...overwhelming, I chose to make just one dish, marshmallow ice cream. The menu didn't indicate a specific flavour, but the book gives a few varieties, including chocolate, coffee, orange, and New York.
What caught my attention while reading this cookbook was that it was written by a Jewish woman who wanted to assimilate young Jewish girls into mainstream American society. One might see Kander's fight for Americanization of immigrants as a negative thing - after all, she was encouraging the abandonment of traditional culinary values. However, it would be difficult not to describe Kander as a strong, courageous woman who actively sought out her goals (despite the fact that she proclaimed the importance of the woman in the domestic sphere).
The focus of the cookbook explains the emphasis on American holidays in the menus section. However, I did notice a few traditional Jewish recipes throughout the book, such as matzo balls, matzo pudding, and kugel. There are also a number of German and Eastern European influences present - in fact, the book is one of the largest collections of Jewish and German recipes published in the United States.
The Settlement Cookbook was also a charity cookbook - its aim was to raise funds for the Jewish Settlement House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ("settlement work" was a term used to describe charitable work among immigrants). The success of the book meant that charities in Milwaukee benefited from the book's sales for over 75 years.
Overall, Kander's work was extremely influential in Milwaukee and the United States as a piece of socio-cultural history. Indeed, it is still influencing North American society today, in facsimile and new revised editions.

Original Recipe:

The Verdict:
This ice cream is ridiculously creamy. I was shocked at how silky it was on my tongue. I liked the flavour, but I think I might have preferred the chocolate variety a little more. Mr. Man thought it was cream cheese at first. He didn't like it, but that's because he doesn't like marshmallows.
I also happened to accidentally burn a little bit of the mixture while it was on the stove, but it actually gave a nice toasted marshmallow flavour. Really, this recipe is nice the way it is, but next time I would toast the marshmallows beforehand.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from The Way to A Man's Heart ... The Settlement Cook Book)

1 cup MILK
20 MARSHMALLOWS
1 cup CREAM or EVAPORATED MILK
1 teaspoon VANILLA

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk. Cut the marshmallows into small pieces and add to the hot milk, stirring until dissolved.
2. To the saucepan, add the vanilla. Let cool.
3. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the cooled marshmallow mixture.
4. Put the ice cream mixture into the freezer to set or follow the directions on your ice cream maker.

-----
Sources

Fritz, Angela. "Lizzie Black Kander and Culinary Reform in Milwaukee, 1880 - 1920."Wisconsin Magazine of History 87.3 (2004): 36-49. Wisconsin Historical Society. 2007. Web. 20 Dec. 2012. <http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wmh/id/42933/show/42910>.

"Lizzie Black Kander." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 May 2012. Web. 20 Dec. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzie_Black_Kander>.

"The Settlement Cook Book." Feeding America. Web. 20 Dec. 2012. <http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_52.cfm>.

6 comments:

Aunt Jemima Party Pancakes (1956) ★★★★
12:00 AM 1950s , 20th century , 4 stars , 4 weeks of yuletide , atomic age , breakfast , christmas , holiday , united states 3 Comments

Eggnog is something I enjoyed as a child, but my fondness for the holiday beverage declined over the years. To be honest, I haven't had eggnog in quite a few years, so I decided that using it as a flavouring for pancakes was probably a safe bet.

ANYWAY.

I stumbled across this two-page advertisement for Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix in LIFE magazine. Honestly it never even occurred to me to use different flavours of milk when making pancakes. Perhaps this would make strawberry milk palatable? (I'm sorry, but how can people drink that stuff?! My school once sold blue raspberry milk...ew, just ew.)

Original Recipe:

SO EASY! HERE'S HOW:
Deluxe pancakes. Makes 14 to 16 pancakes.

2 cups Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix
1 egg
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter or shortening
Add milk, egg and shortening to the Aunt Jemima pancake mix, stirring lightly. Bake on hot, lightly greased griddle, turning only once.

For chocolate pancakes, use chocolate milk instead of regular milk.
For strawberry pancakes, use strawberry milk instead of regular milk.
For eggnog pancakes, omit the egg and use only one cup regular milk plus one cup dairy-made eggnog.

When serving several persons, stack pancakes and keep warm in oven.
-----
Serve six dollar-size pancakes per person and top each serving with whipped cream, sprinkling with nutmeg.

The Verdict:
Well first off, this makes SO MUCH PANCAKE BATTER. Seriously. Especially when you're making dollar-sized pancakes. If you are a few hungry people and are making regular-sized pancakes, this is an okay amount. Otherwise, please half it at the very least.
Taste-wise, these are okay. I definitely got a festive feeling eating them. The eggnog is definitely tasteable, but it's not super strong, so if you want to make these and really like eggnog, I would suggest maybed increased the eggnog to milk ratio, adding some to the whipped cream, or making an eggnog sauce to drizzle on top. The whipped cream and nutmeg did increase the eggnoggyness of the dish as well. And speaking of - the recipe didn't mention if the whipped cream should be sweetened or not, but I'm just saying, unsweetened whipped cream is kinda ew. Overall, not something I would make often, but I ate more than one of my own free will.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from LIFE 23 Jan 1956)

2 tablespoons BUTTER or SHORTENING
1 cup MILK
1 cup EGGNOG
2 cups AUNT JEMIMA PANCAKE MIX
WHIPPED CREAM
NUTMEG

1. In a large mixing bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the milk and eggnog. Add the pancake mix and whisk until well combined and lumps are gone.
2. Heat a fry pan or griddle to medium heat. Lightly grease. Drop one tablespoon of batter for each dollar-sized pancake. Fry until puffy and golden brown, flipping once when the edges begin to firm up.
3. Arrange the pancakes on a plate with whipped cream. Sprinkle the nutmeg over top.

3 comments:

Hawaiian Holiday Candies (1948) ★★★
9:57 AM 1940s , 20th century , 3 stars , 4 weeks of yuletide , atomic age , candy , christmas , dessert , holiday , snacks , united states 2 Comments

This recipe is a little lighter than the usual Christmas fare, which was probably the point. I also love how Knox advertises itself as "wholesome". Later on, many of their advertisements focus on health benefits of gelatin, especially as a cure for cracked nails.
The line "For only about 35 c a pound!" also makes it apparent that even just three years out of World War Two, spending thriftily was still a concern.

Original Recipe:

Drain juice from: 1 (No. 2) can Dole crushed pineapple. Add enough water to make 2 1/2 cups liquid.

Soften: 4 envelopes Knox Gelatine in: 1 cup cold liquid (set aside)

Combine: 1 1/2 cups liquid 3 cups sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt

Bring to boiling point, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Add gelatine; stir until dissolved. Add drained crushed pineapple. Return to heat. Boil slowly for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Rinse 2 (8" x 4") pans (bread pan size) in cold water. Pour in candy mixture to depth of 1/4 inch. Put in a cool place (not in refrigerator) and let stand overnight.

Then loosen candy around edges of pan with wet, sharp knife. Pull out on board lightly covered with confectioner's sugar. Cut in cubes and roll in confectioner's or fine granulated sugar.

The Verdict:

Umm....a little strange. The texture of the pineapple in the gelatin was kind of weird. I'm not sure that I like these enough that I would make them again, but they're not necessarily bad. The gelatin itself is not sweet at all, despite all the sugar in it. However, the sugar coating makes it too sweet. I think this was mostly because the cubes were a little damp, so they soaked up way too much sugar and made this sickly sweet layer of goopy crunchiness on the outside. I think I would rather just eat them without the sugar coating.

Also, I admit that I did put these in the fridge. I don't get why the recipe said not to, especially since they just were not setting up well inside my warm house. Maybe that's why they were damp? I'm not sure...they are a bit delicate and jiggly, rather than firm. Maybe today's Knox packets contain less gelatin than in the past?

I give them three stars for an average rating. I think this recipe has potential, but perhaps needs some tweaking.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Knox, found at The Gallery of Graphic Design)

1 20 ounce can CRUSHED PINEAPPLE

4 envelopes KNOX GELATIN

2 1/2 cups DRAINED PINEAPPLE JUICE, with water added to make the full amount if necessary

3 cups SUGAR

1/4 teaspoon SALT

POWDERED SUGAR

1. Drain the juice from the canned pineapple. Add enough water to the drained juice to make 2 1/2 cups. Set aside in the fridge.

2. In a small bowl, combine the gelatin and 1 cup of the chilled pineapple juice. Set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan, combine the rest of the chilled pineapple juice (1 1/2 cups), the sugar, and the salt. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture. Stir, and add the drained crushed pineapple. Boil everything slowly for 15 minutes.

4. Rinse two 8x4 bread pans with cold water. Divide the candy between the two, about 1/4 inch thickness in each one. Set the pans in a cool place and let set overnight.

5. When set, run knife rinsed in hot water along the edges of the pans to loosen (you may need a spatula as well). Turn the candy out onto a cutting board which is covered with powdered sugar. Cut the candy into cubes and roll in the sugar to coat.

2 comments:

Cocoanut Dainties (1931) ★★★★
12:00 AM 1930s , 20th century , 4 stars , 4 weeks of yuletide , australia , christmas , cookies , dairy-free , gluten-free , holiday , interwar , snacks , soy-free 0 Comments

I found this recipe at The Old Foodie. I liked it because it looked super simple and I also thought it would be a good treat for Little Y, who loves coconut. They're also pretty cheap to make, with only 3 ingredients.

Original Recipe:
Cocoanut Dainties.

Here is some cooking which a small child could do. The ingredients needed are:-

Four table-spoonfuls of sugar, 8 tablespoonfuls of desiccated cocoanut, and the whites of two eggs. Beat the whites of the eggs to a froth, add the sugar, and beat well again. Then stir in in the cocoanut.

Drop teaspoonfuls of this mixture on to a greased slide, and bake about 10 or 15 minutes in a moderate oven.

(A Parrot Card is awarded to Jean Douglas, Coast Road, Mirboo [?] North, Gippsland.)

The Verdict:

Not bad. I'm not a huge fan of coconut either, but I don't mind these. They did turn out pretty chewy, and I was hoping for more of a crunchy meringue, but still good (I realized as I was writing this up that I accidentally used half the amount of sugar. I didn't even notice, however, I wonder if that had anything to do with the texture.)! Perhaps they could benefit from a splash of vanilla, but otherwise they're fine as is. They're a great option for when you'd like a sweet treat but are lazy. It took minutes to whip these up and the great thing is that they don't spread, so you could probably even fit all of them on one baking sheet. They are best eaten the day of, because otherwise they tend to get sticky, even in this dry winter air.
Yield: 16 dainties

Modernized Recipe:

(Adapted from the Children's pages of The Argus, December 12, 1931, found at The Old Foodie)

2 EGG WHITES
4 tablespoons SUGAR
8 tablespoons DESICCATED COCONUT
1 teaspoon VANILLA EXTRACT (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the coconut.
3. Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake about 10 or 15 minutes until the tips become golden brown. Let cool and store in a well-sealed container.

0 comments:

Poinsettia Salad/Fruit-Salad Dressing (c.1928) ★★★★
12:00 AM 1920s , 20th century , 4 stars , 4 weeks of yuletide , christmas , fruit , interwar , salad , united states 5 Comments

I have this jar of maraschino cherries that has been sitting in my fridge for ages, because I bought them for some other historical recipe and never used them again. When I came across this recipe I knew I had to make it. I'm killing two birds with one stone here: using up some cherries AND making a recipe for my 4 Weeks of Yuletide.

Because there was no dressing specified, I decided on using the recipe for Fruit-Salad Dressing from the same cookbook. Because I was lazy, I didn't bother actually making up a whole batch of it, and just combined the ingredients without the eggs. I imagine it would have thickened up to something like a curd and probably would've been quite tasty over this salad.

Original Recipe:
85. POINSETTIA SALAD--Cream cheese, such as Neufchâtel or Philadelphia cream cheese, combines very well with some fruits and vegetables. It is used with pineapple and cherries in the preparation of poinsettia salad, which is illustrated in Fig. 11. As can be imagined, this makes a pretty decoration for a Christmas table or a salad to be served around holiday time.

POINSETTIA SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Six)

1 pkg. cream cheese
Lettuce
2 Tb. cream
4 maraschino cherries
1/4 tsp. salt
Salad dressing
6 rounds pineapple

Mix the cream cheese with the cream and salt, and form this into small round balls with the fingers. Place the rounds of pineapple on salad plates garnished with lettuce, and put the cheese ball in the center of the pineapple. Cut the maraschino cherries in half, and then cut each half into narrow strips that resemble petals of a flower. Place five or six of these over the top of the cream cheese with the points meeting in the center, as shown in the illustration. Serve with any desired dressing, but instead of adding the dressing to the salad put it in a mayonnaise bowl and allow each person at the table to add it.

74. FRUIT-SALAD DRESSING.--Various dressings may be served with fruit salad, and usually the one selected depends on the preference of those to whom it is served. However, an excellent dressing for salad of this kind and one that most persons find delicious is made from fruit juices thickened by means of eggs. Whenever a recipe in this Section calls for a fruit-salad dressing, this is the one that is intended.

FRUIT-SALAD DRESSING

1/2 c. pineapple, peach, or pear juice
1/2 c. orange juice
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs

Mix the fruit juices, add the sugar, beat the eggs slightly, and add them. Put the whole into a double boiler and cook until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from the fire and beat for a few seconds with a rotary egg beater. Cool and serve.

The Verdict:

Umm...kind of weird. Because the cream cheese was salted, it was confusing and strange with the sweet dressing and fruit. It wasn't bad, though. I think with some modifications I would actually eat this and even make it again. I would add sweetener and perhaps some vanilla or lemon flavouring to make the cream cheese more like a raw cheesecake ball. Also, the cream is really unnecessary? And maybe use 2 or 3 rings of pineapple, because, um, this "salad" is a really pathetic amount of food. It's obviously supposed to be mostly ornamental, likely as part of a crazy historical meal with 24 courses or something. I give it 3 stars as is, or 4 stars with the above modifications.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4)

LETTUCE, 1 leaf per person
PINEAPPLE, 1-3 rings per person
MARASCHINO CHERRIES, 1-2 per person
CREAM CHEESE, 2 tablespoons per person
SUGAR, 1/2 teaspoon per person
VANILLA or LEMON extract

1/2 cup PINEAPPLE JUICE (if using canned pineapple, use the juice from the can)
1/2 cup ORANGE JUICE
1/4 cup LEMON JUICE
1/4 cup SUGAR
2 EGGS

1. Prepare the dressing by mixing all ingredients in a double boiler or in a saucepan over low heat. Cook until thickened and beat with a hand mixer when done. Let cool.
2. Wash and dry the lettuce leaves. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and flavouring. Let it sit in the fridge if it needs to firm up before forming into balls. Slice the cherries into thin strips.
3. Assemble the plates as pictured: lettuce, pineapple, cheese ball. Arrange the strips of cherry on top of the cheese ball to make a flower shape.
4. Serve with the dressing on the side.

5 comments:

Sint Nickolaas Koekjes (Speculaas) (1937) ★★★★★
12:00 AM 1930s , 20th century , 4 weeks of yuletide , 5 stars , christmas , cookies , holiday , interwar , netherlands , snacks 2 Comments

Ginger Bread by Anton Pieck (1895 - 1987)

My maternal grandparents emigrated to North America after WWII. As a result, I have a long-time love of Speculaas - and not just at Christmastime! And imagine my surprise when the flavour of this traditional cookie went mainstream over the past year, with the cult following of speculoos spread/biscoff cookie butter.

Speculaas are something like a Dutch answer to gingerbread (which was super popular in the British Isles). Like gingerbread, speculaas can be made different ways: thin and hard, thick and bready, or filled with almond paste. While the terms speculaas and speculoos are often considered fairly interchangeable, there is a difference. Add in "biscoff" and the whole thing just gets downright confusing. Speculaas is a Dutch word for the cookie, which is usually of the thicker, bready type, more like (non-crispy) gingerbread. Speculoos is the Belgian word and tends to be a thin, hard cookie with less spice. Biscoff (biscuit + coffee) is the name that speculoos are sold under in North America. Therefore speculoos = biscoff, which do not = speculaas.

Although the texture may be different, the flavour of speculaas appears in many lowland European countries, especially in holiday sweets. The etymology of the word "speculaas" is not definite, but the two most popular theories are that it is derived from the word "speculum" or "specie". Speculum ("mirror") would refer to the mirror image of the stamps or molds, while specie would connote a "spiced" cake. Two other options are the Latin word "speculator" to refer to St. Nicholas (Sint Nickolaas), "he who sees everything", or "specerij", which again, means "spice". In Germany they are known as spekulatius. There is also a local variety from Hasselt, Belgium, called speculation, which was licensed in 1870.

The cookie itself dates back to at least the Middle Ages, when cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves were commonly used and foods such as gingerbread were popular. They were certainly being baked by the 15th century, when couples in love would express their desires through the gift giving of speculaas, shaped as humans or even in a representation of St. Nicholas himself. While originally based in religious iconography, nowadays speculaas come in a variety of shapes, including elephants, horses, ships, farmhouses, windmills, chickens, trees, birds, etc. Prior to around 1850, speculaas were made from rye flour and honey, resulting in a very hard cookie which could only be eaten when softened.

In the Netherlands, the feast of St. Nickolaas (Sinterklaas) is celebrated on December 5th, so hence the date for this post.

I found this specific recipe on a website for a Dutch historical village in Pella, Iowa, which was founded in the 19th century by Dutch immigrants. The recipe comes from a 1937 community cookbook which was full of ethnic recipes (as community cookbooks often are). Perhaps this is why the recipe specifies that these are "Sint Nickolaas Koekjes". Any Dutch person would certainly know the tradition of "speculaas", so the recipe title must indicate that the recipe and hence the cookbook were for a broader audience. As a disclaimer, I do not know if any revisions were made by the website, so the recipe may not have been originally written in this form. However, given the sparse instructions, I don't think many - if any - changes have been made.

Original Recipe:

Dutch Santa Claus Cookies
Sint Nickolaas Koekjes (Speculaas)

10 oz. butter
1 egg
10 oz. brown and white sugar mixed
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cloves
1 lb. flour
1 t. soda dissolved in 2 T. sour milk

Mix—form into ball—chill.
Slice thin and bake.

The Verdict:
I was curious to see how this would work out, because normally speculaas (at least today) contain far more spices, including ginger, star anise, coriander, and white pepper. There are also no directions for mixing, so I followed the usual standard for making cookies. However, I have seen some recipes which follow the steps for making pastry: cut the butter into the flour and then adding the other ingredients.
The cookies were delicious, although a tiny bit bland spice-wise. If you like a real punch of spice, this is not the cookie. Or it could be, just add more spices. Ginger would really help, I think. Nevertheless, they are yummy as is! I would certainly make and eat these again happily. Mr. Man enjoyed them as well. They are soft and delicious right out of the oven, but harden up just a bit once cooled. They're also not super sweet, which is nice because it means you can eat five and still feel okay. Not that I tried...
Yield was 30 cookies, slightly smaller than my palm.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Genuine Holland Recipes, found at Pella Tulip Time)

10 ounces UNSALTED BUTTER
5 ounces BROWN SUGAR
5 ounces WHITE SUGAR
1 EGG
2 teaspoons CINNAMON
1 teaspoon NUTMEG
1/2 teaspoon CLOVES
1 teaspoon BAKING SODA
2 tablespoons BUTTERMILK
1 pound FLOUR

1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg. Add the spices.
2. Dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk (or use regular milk with some lemon juice to make it sour) and stir into the dough. Blend in the flour and knead until well-combined. You may need extra flour. It should not stick to your hands.
3. Form the dough into a ball or a log and refrigerate overnight. I would suggest the log, otherwise you're going to have to wait for an hour for the dough to come to room temperature to roll by hand.
4. To bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350F. Slice into small rounds or roll into balls (or use a speculaas mold if you happen to have one). Bake on a cookie sheet for about 14 minutes.

-----
Sources

Muusers, Christianne. "Speculaas with Rich Almond Stuffing." Coquinaria. 29 Oct. 2004. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.coquinaria.nl/english/recipes/speculaas.htm>.

"SPECULAAS FROM HASSELT." Grandma's Design | Recipes. European Commission. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.grandmasdesign.com/media.php?recipes=NTAwMjA=>.

"Speculoos." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculoos>.

"Vermeiren Speculoos." Vermeiren Speculoos. 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.vermeirenprinceps.be/index.php?prodid=>.

2 comments:

Hot Dr Pepper (1964) ★★★★
12:00 AM 1960s , 20th century , 4 stars , 4 weeks of yuletide , atomic age , beverages , christmas , dairy-free , gluten-free , soy-free , united states 7 Comments

When I came across this recipe it really intrigued me. I liked Dr Pepper, but how would it taste when hot?
Also, this is a ridiculously easy and budget-friendly recipe. Which is nice when I want to post something here but don't have much time or money ;)

Dr Pepper was created in the 1880s and first sold sometime around 1885. I love some of the early slogans: "King of Beverages" (1889–1914), "When You Drink a Dr. Pepper You Drink a Bite to Eat" (1939), and "America's Most Misunderstood Soft Drink" (1960s). Perhaps the reason it's so "misunderstood" is because of its "devilish" behaviour.

Original Recipe:

For something different - devilishly different for the holidays - try Dr Pepper piping hot. here is a bracing, cool weather refreshment that lends a holiday spirit to any occasion. Just heat Dr Pepper in a saucepan until it steams. Pour into a glass or cup over a slice of lemon and serve piping hot. And for those who want something special...Try the Boomer...that's Hot Dr Pepper with a dash of rum. Enjoy Hot Dr Pepper often.

The Verdict:
It was pretty good. It tasted nice, and the lemon was pretty strong, but in a good way. I would drink it again by choice. It reminded me of tea. That said, I think I prefer hot apple cider as my holiday beverage of choice (and it's healthier than pop!). I prefer cold Dr Pepper with a slice of lemon. When it heats up it looses all the carbonation and and the taste becomes a little flat. Now, I didn't try it with rum, so perhaps that would've been different. If anyone tries it, comment below!

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from The Dr Pepper Company, found at Hey, My Mom Used to Make That!)

It's heating up a pre-made drink with a slice of lemon. No directions needed.