Cooking in the Golden Era

[MissQueenie]

Hi ladies and gents,

I was originally going to start this thread in the powder room, but then I thought I might as well make it equal-opportunity, as I'm sure some of our men also enjoy cooking. The rest probably at least enjoy eating!

I got to thinking the other day about heirlooms...the sorts of things people have deemed valuable enough to treasure in their lifetimes and carefully pass down to the next generation, and how often in our culture recipes are considered family heirlooms. My own "inheritence" is sadly lacking. My grandmother moved to the US after the second world war, and learned everything she knew about American cooking from the 1950 edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I still have this book, now tatty from 55 years of heavy use, but for me it evokes an era of big, graceful cars, neatly squared suburubs with their identical lawns, avon ladies, and cocktail parties.

I would love to hear what sort of vintage cooking memories, recipes, appliances, etc you collect, remember fondly (or not so fondly -- rationing, stamps, etc), enjoy cooking/eating...just sort of an open-ended call for anything and everything related to Cooking in the Golden Era.


~ Queenie.

 

[shindeco]

I love vintage cookbooks! A couple of years ago I started getting really interested in teh ration recipes from WWII. There are some really good recipes (and some real dogs...) What I had never considered was that a lot of the stuff people were eating back then was vegan! (No eggs, no butter, no milk). Now I use these when cooking for vegan friends. Some great cake recipes.

 

[jkath]

Miss Queenie, you are a mind reader!
I just found this board today, and after asking a question in the Powder room, I wondered if anyone spoke of "vintage cookery" as it were. And, there you are! Cooking is my love, and one of my dearest cookbooks is my Good Housekeeping 1944 edition. I love the recipes, as they're all comfort foods, and not one of them mentions words like "low fat" and "carb free". Ah, the good life! It's amazing how folks really did use every scrap of the cow, down to boiling bones for a rich broth.

 

[Dr. Shocker]

I love the idea of a thread of old recipes.......I am currently collecting vintage bar guides for the true recipes of favorite drinks.....though after some sampling some of the newer versions do taste better......a easy family recipe my grand mother passed to my dad and then to me........authenticity I have little clue but he keeps telling me its been done this way in our family for many years (maybe as long as powdered garlic)

1 Steak
1 can Blackeyed Peas
3/4 stick of butter or margerine

salt
pepper
garlic powder

beat the hell out of the steak then coat (both sides) with about 1/2 the stick of butter salt and pepper then bassically coat the whole thing with the garlic powder. Toss in a frying pan and cook to your taste (rare, well, etc.) just before its perfect toss in the can of blackeyed peas and the res of the butter add some more salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil and the simmer for about ten minutes till the beans thicken. Continue flipping the steak while doing this. Once the beans have thicken remove from heat and serve. This can be made for one to two people easily, more and you will need to go with another batch. Like all old recipes passed down the seasoning is a trial and error for your taste but its damn good.....but not terribly healthy

 

[jkath]

.......... its damn good.....but not terribly healthy

Better to please your tastebuds and remember it than watch the waistline and regret it

 

[Big Man]

My grandmother kept house from 1905 (when she was married) until 1982. She was 99 years old when she stopped keeping house and finally turned those duties over to someone else (she died at the age of 101, by the way). From the time she began keeping house until the mid-1950's, she cooked in an open fireplace and/or a wood cook stove. The electric stove she (reluctantly) began using was a late-1940's model GE that my dad and mother bought when they began housekeeping. The old stove is still at my grandmother's house and is still in use, so I guess you could say that is one "collectable" cooking item.

Also at my grandmother's place (now my place), and still in use, are several of her old cast iron cooking pots and pans. There is one Dutch oven that she used to make biscuits and rolls in that is interesting. It has been used so much that the rim of the lid is actually WORN OUT and paper thin. Do you know just how much you have to use a CAST IRON pot to wear it out! We still use that No. 10 Dutch oven to make biscuits, and they are good!

I don't think my grandmother ever had any written recopies as such. The only one that I can think of is one that my aunt wrote down when she took over housekeeping from my grandmother. It is a fruit cake recipe. My grandmother used to make fruitcakes at Christmas time to sell as a way to make a little extra money. As for every day meals, my grandmother just "cooked" - plain and simple. Her meals were simple, but good. I would suspect that they changed little in composition or preparation over the almost 80 years she was keeping house.

 

[MissQueenie]

Welcome, JKath! I got the bug to start this thread ages ago, but it just took me ages to get around to it! I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d love to see a picture of your prized cookbook ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú either the cover or an inside shot (or both!). Do you have a favorite recipe from it?

Dr. S ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú One of my best friends was on the lookout for a bar book called ?¢‚Ǩ?ìHow Red The Nose?¢‚Ǩ? which featured a recipe by his much-loved William S. Seabrook. While in Tempe AZ last February, I found the most amazing rare book shop with a substantial selection of cookery and bar books ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú I regret now that I didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t snap up more of them when I was there, but alas. I was unable to find ?¢‚Ǩ?ìHow Red The Nose?¢‚Ǩ? but I did pick up a 1930s copy of Mr. Boston?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Bar Guide for my friend and a first edition of Trader Vick?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s cookbook/bar book for myself for under $20 total. Quite a steal! I will snap a picture of my copy of Trader Vick?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s?¢‚Ǩ¬¶I have yet to try any of the recipes from it yet. I was thinking of hosting a vintage themed luau this summer! I also picked up a ladies?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ society cookbook ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú one of those fundraising cookbooks where each Grande Dame contributes a recipe and the proceeds go to some good cause or another -- at a library sale in downtown La Jolla from the mid 50?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d guess. Haven?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t tried anything from that book, either, but it has some interesting party and banquet menus in it.

Big Man ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Thank you so much for sharing your grandmother?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s story! Nothing cooks like beautifully seasoned cast-iron.


Keep the stories and recipes coming!

~Q.

 

[Naama]

I love vintage cookbooks! A couple of years ago I started getting really interested in teh ration recipes from WWII.

Bah, there are some really gross ones out there from germany out there, like lung"klopse" (I don't think there is an english equivalent word for "klopse"(?)) or baked meatmash which contains cow skin...........................
Not for me, thank you!

Naama

 

[whistlebait]

It's funny that this topic was brought up, because it makes me think of the current/modern regional cookbooks (for funderaisers) that I have and how a lot of the recipes seem rather mid-century. Anyhow, I bought the 1953 edition of the Joy of Cooking, last spring while digging through a flea market. Haven't used it, but hope to in the future. Great topic!

 

[MissQueenie]

I just remembered I have another couple of oldies in my cupboard -- The Bride's First Cookbook (I'll have to check on the date, 50s or maybe even as late as the 60s), which is like a refresher for "home ec" -- how long stuff will keep in the fridge, basic utensils, what to stock in your pantry, etc. in addition to recipes.

Speaking of Mid-century/regional cookbooks, Whistlebait, I have one that I picked up in Jerome AZ as a kid -- it has a violently orange cover, but it has charming illustrations of the town and all the recipes come from residents. That sort of thing has its own kind of charm. I remember the place with fondness when I see the little book on my shelf, much more so than if I had picked up some knick-knack that would have sat around cluttering up my mom's house til it was sold in a garage sale. Those books are like extended postcards.


~Q.

 

[magneto]

What a great thread! I also love cooking (mostly baking) vintage recipes & collect old cookbooks; especially the 40s "Pocket" paperback cookbooks... just bought the 2-volume "Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking," 1947. I like how comprehensive and detailed vintage cookbooks tend to be compared to newer CBs, discussing good nutrition, how to food shop, menu planning, etc. A perusal of these older volumes disproves the stereotype that Golden Era US cuisine was nothing more than Wonder Bread and overboiled vegetables.

Yes, wartime cookbooks are great, especially for the budget-minded! There are many great wartime cookbooks/home ec books (World War I that is!) free at gutenberg.org, such as "Everyday Foods in Wartime" and "Foods That Will Win The War And How To Cook Them (1918)".

Also on that website, I *highly* recommend the series of "Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences" cookbooks; they cover *everything*. Also some vintage vegetarian cookbooks!

 

[Rigby Reardon]

My family has some passed-down recipes for special things - my Great-Grandmother Horan's Christmas Cake being one of them, and I believe the chili relish recipe is also hers...but I don't think they came down in old cookbooks. They were handwritten, and I believe in NY my mother still has the old ones...heck, she might have their old cookbooks, too, and I just don't remember.

But it's profound to be following the recipes of a family member who died before I was born. The Christmas Cake is still made every year by my family, but I'm afraid the chili relish may have died with my father two years ago...I will have to look into that - thanks for the reminder.

 

[Dr. Shocker]

I remember as kid learning to cook on my own, i can only imagine what I came up with, but grandma helped teach me her art to cooking. After talking with friends grandmothers I discovered cooking doesn't change as much as the recipes. The recipes change due to taste and availability which also as it happes is the same with coctails.

Miss Queenie I woul love to soo a pic I have the 72 revision of the Vics guide......along with being a vintage junkie I am also a Tikiphile please let me know if you do the Luau.....and i will have to keep an Eye out for the book.....I always see the good ones when I am flat as luck would have it

 

[kools]

I have the 1946 "Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink." I doubt the book changed much over the years. The bulk of my collection consists of 1950s barbeque books. There are a lot of great photos of dad looking good standing over his steak & mom serving lemonade in high heels.

 

[nightandthecity]

Bah, there are some really gross ones out there from germany out there, like lung"klopse" (I don't think there is an english equivalent word for "klopse"(?)) or baked meatmash which contains cow skin...........................
Not for me, thank you!

Naama

well Naama, we had some pretty disgusting stuff in England too. I still remember watching my father eat tripe - cows stomach. This was eaten raw with salt and vinegar. And pigs trotters, known as the "Saturday night mouth organ" because you had to suck a lot to get the little bits of meat out from among the fat and gristle. These were delicacies to dad's generation of working-class people.

 

[Harry Lime]

Great thread, great memories.

Queenie,

Thanks for this, it brings back some fond memories. One of my favorite images is my Mom and my Grandma in her kitchen at the end of summer "canning" tomatoes and making tomatoe soup with all the tomatoes from her garden. It was a ton of work and they both really worked hard at it. She kept all the Ball and Mason Jars on shelves in her basement so we had the world's best soup and tomatoes all the time. Sadly, (but understandably) when my grandma passed the tradition ended. I still miss all of those things tons but your thread let me re-live it for one day. Thanks.

Harry Lime

 

[MissQueenie]

I have the 1946 "Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink." I doubt the book changed much over the years. The bulk of my collection consists of 1950s barbeque books. There are a lot of great photos of dad looking good standing over his steak & mom serving lemonade in high heels.

The '46 is likely a first ed -- I believe mine was printed in '46 as well. And have you any idea how hard it is to walk -- let alone serve lemonade -- on grass in high heels?? I walk on it every day at lunch and you really have to alter your gait to avoid sinking!

Doc, I will absolutely let you know if I decide to do the luau, and if I do I intend to issue an open invitation to all loungers who can make it Maybe we can showcase favorite FL vintage recipes! I'll also take a few shot's of Vic's Food and Drink when I get home this evening and get those posted for you.

Harry, it's too bad the canning tradition fell out of practice! I'm looking forward to getting a nice open place in the country after I'm married so that I can have a garden and make my own jam and tomato sauce, etc. It's sort of a lost art these days, unfortunately. It's wonderful that you were able to see your mother and grandmother at it, though!

~Q.

 

[shindeco]

I went digging through my cookbooks and dug out a few that I hadn't looked at in a while. I have a 1949 "Esquire's Handbook for Hosts" that has recipes (food and drinks); party games, tips on what to wear -- it's great. I also have "Burke's Complete Cocktail and Tastybite Recipes" from 1936. That was a real find in the used bookstore in the small town where my parents live. It cost me 35 cents!

I figure I'll add a recipe, too. This one is from a Swan's Down Flour ad in the Spring (March) 1930 issue of "Fashion Service: Women's Institute Magazine" (Fun magazine, too) I've made it several times and really like it.

ONE EGG CAKE
2 cups sifted Swan's Down Cake Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons butter or other shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg, unbeaten
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla.

Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift together three times. Cream butter thoroughly, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add flour, alternately with milk, a small amount at a time. beat after each addition until smooth. Add vanilla. Bake in two greased 9-inch layer pans in moderate oven (375 F) 25 minutes. Put layers together and cover top and sides of cake with Soft Chocolate Frosting.


SOFT CHOCOLATE FROSTING

4 squares Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate, cut in pieces
1 1/4 cups cold milk
4 tablespoons Swan's Down Cake Flour
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add chocolate to milk in double boiler and heat. When chocolate is melted, beat with rotary egg beater until smooth and blended. Sift flour with sugar; add a small amount of chocolate mixture, stirring until smooth. Return to double boiler, cook until thickened, and add butter and vanilla. Cool and spread on cake


That's the recipe verbatim, The first time I made it, I did all the sifting (4 times!) and the second time, I didn't sift at all. I have to say, it didn't seem to me to make that much difference!

In any case, it's a very nice cake--and fairly low in fat, too! Enjoy!

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

What a great thread!
... just bought the 2-volume "Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking," 1947. I like how comprehensive and detailed vintage cookbooks tend to be compared to newer CBs, discussing good nutrition, how to food shop, menu planning, etc.

That was my grandmother's Cook Book! In the last few years I've been trying more & more out of it. It's all great!

Thing so great about 1940s recipies, it's so traditional, so all the recipies are "safe" unlike newer books, you don't end up with something really freaky/yuppy/wierd with "horseradish & garlic celantro sauce"...

WHO BELIEVES THE RECENT NEW NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES / bashing of the old?

maybe that I'm taking classes in medicine may change this (nutrition class coming up later), but I really question this talk about how bad the traditional food pyramid was, and how it was all a big conspiracy by the breadmakers & we should all be on lo-carb/no-carb diets... They told us for years how much better margarine was for you than butter, then About-Face: Bam, that stuff'll kill you, eat butter! Same with eggs: They kept saying how bad egggs were for you... then it turns out it's not true either. With JAMA getting flamed by other countries for touting a heart "wonder drug" with questionable research and critical side effects, who's to say what "research" to beleive other than the test of time itself.

Stickin' with tradition till this new fad is proven right or wrong by time. Just make slight modifications if it says to use a pound of bacon grease, and it's all good!

I was originally going to start this thread in the powder room, but then I thought I might as well make it equal-opportunity, as I'm sure some of our men also enjoy cooking.

Hey! Ever heard of "chefs"?

 

[shindeco]

Just Remembered

Gourmet Magazine September, 2001 is their 60th anniversary issue. They actually dug out recipes from all the decades (40s through 90s) and re-ran articles, too. It's a great time capsule of cooking over the last 60 years. The 40s recipes include Lobster Thermidor and Creamed mushrooms on toast. There's also a great article from the 40s by a woman who spent a winter living in an abandoned monastary in Tibet!