Recipe Swap: Strange recipes from a simpler time

Recently my backyard neighbor and friend Mary Spell was visiting with my parents in their home when she loaned my mother a copy of an old cookbook. The 1970 reprint is of the "1904 Christmas Edition Gold Medal Flour Cook Book." It is full of old recipes and a sample Christmas dinner menu featuring cream of oyster soup, fish cutlets, roast goose and plum pudding with hard sauce. Both of my parents had fun reading some unusual recipes like Tongue in Jelly, Sweetbread Patties, Green Turtle, Calf's Head with Tortue Sauce and recipes for about every living creature on the face of the earth. It is interesting, and I have had fun reading through the book. However, I know I would be bombarded with calls and e-mails if I included those recipes here today, so I will see if I can find some that will be suitable for this time period. I hope you enjoy.

Dumplings for Stew

1 pint flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup rich milk

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together 4 times. Mix with 1 cup rich milk. Drop by spoonfuls into the boiling stew. Cover tight and do not open lid for 10 minutes, when they should be done. These may also be dropped on a buttered plate and cooked in an ordinary steamer over boiling water.

When cooked with stewed fruit made very rich, this is called Fruit Pot Pie. Peach, pear, plum, apple highly flavored with quince and cranberries are good. Crabapple is better to use with rich crispness of a short cake.

Election Cake

4 pounds flour

3 pounds sugar

2 pounds butter

Whites of 6 eggs

4 nutmegs

1 quart sweet milk

1 1/2 pounds raisins

1/2 pint homemade yeast

Juice and rind of 2 lemons

Cream thoroughly the butter and sugar, then divide; with 1/2 mix all the flour, milk and yeast. When light add the other half of the butter and sugar, eggs, raisins and flavorings. Beat thoroughly. Put in several pans and let rise till light and bake with great care.

Orange Straws

Cut orange peel into strips with scissors. Put into cold water and boil 20 minutes. Change water. Boil 20 minutes. Change again and boil 20 minutes, making 3 boilings. Take 1 cup orange and 1 of sugar and water to cover and boil till it hairs, roll in granulated sugar, place on platter to dry, handle with sugar tongs.

Meringues

Whites of 3 eggs, 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Beat eggs very stiff, add sugar gradually, beating lightly. Drop on buttered and floured tins in cone shape. Bake in a very slow oven until thoroughly dry. When cold, slip off tin, cut off top, fill with ice cream or whipped cream, flavored and sweetened. This makes five large or six medium size. After filling replace tops.

Chicken Pie

Divide the chickens into pieces at the joints. Boil until part done, or about 20 minutes. Take it out and fry 2 or 3 slices of fat salt pork and put in the bottom. Place the chicken on with 1 cup of water, 2 ounces of butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste and cover the top with a light crust, the same as for biscuit. Bake in an oven that is hotter at the top then at the bottom, and when well risen and brown cover with a paper or the crust will burn before the pie is baked through. Remove fat from the water in which the chicken was boiled, thicken with a little flour, season to taste, add 1 cup good cream and when the pie is done, pour this gravy through the holes of the crust.

Hoe Cake

Put one quart of white corn meal into a bowl. Add one teaspoon of salt. Add to it sufficient boiling water to moisten, stirring all the time to make a stiff batter. Moisten the hands in cold water. Take a tablespoon of the batter in your hand and press it into a thin round cake.

If you have an open fire, have before it an oak plank, well heated. Place the cakes against the board in front of the fire. Bake on one side and turn and bake on the other side until thoroughly done, about three-quarters of an hour. These can also be baked on a griddle on top of the fire. When done pull apart, butter and send to the table hot.

I did not even begin to touch the surface of what this book contains, but maybe you can have a little glimpse in your mind of what it was like to cook in 1904.

Over the long weekend I had fun looking through some cookbooks I have not pulled off the shelf in a long time. In the process, I found several recipes that I marked, recipes that I have either tried in the past or I marked to try, so here are a couple of those from a few of my favorite books.

Maple Apple Crunch

8 baking apples, about 2 pounds, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix apples, flour, sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup and cinnamon, and put in ungreased 8-by-12-inch glass baking dish, or a 9-inch pie plate. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, remaining 1/2 cup maple syrup, butter, baking soda, baking powder and nuts. Spread on top of apple mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Good served warm with cream or ice cream. Makes 12 servings.

Eggplant Salad

1 large eggplant

1/4 cup olive oil

2/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Parsley

Ripe black olives

Bake eggplant at 400 degrees until soft and skin crumbles. Peel, remove seeds, cool and dice. Whip eggplant in blender with oil to make smooth paste. Add feta and lemon juice to taste and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and spread mixture on flat serving dish lined with lettuce or watercress. Garnish with parsley and olives. Serves 6 to 8.

Tomato-Cheese Crunch

6 medium tomatoes, peeled

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

2 cups crushed potato chips

Slice tomatoes 1/2-inch thick. Arrange half of slices in bottom of greased 2-quart casserole. Spread half the onion and half the cheese over tomatoes, ending with half the chips. Repeat layers, ending with remaining chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

Squash and Hominy Dish

2 pounds zucchini or summer squash

1 large onion, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup water

2 (16-ounce) cans hominy, drained

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups grated sharp cheese

Crushed corn ships for topping

Combine zucchini or squash, onion, butter, and water in skillet, and cook slowly until tender. Add hominy, pepper, sour cream, salt, and 1 cup cheese. Pour into greased 3-quart casserole, top with remaining 1 cup cheese, and sprinkle with crushed corn chips. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 8.

Have a great week and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.