RECIPES: New and Old

[dawna]

CRANBERRY JELLY


Cranberries
Sugar
Calf-foot jelly or isinglass (note, neither is readily available any more, use rennet or other gelling agent)

Take ripe cranberries, break them up in a bowl or earthen pan, and set them by till next day; them boil them, strain the juice through a jelly-bag, and to each pint add a pound and a half of loaf sugar, broken up, and a small portion of calf-foot jelly or dissolved isinglass; simmer it slowly till it is a thick jelly, skimming it well and stirring it frequently; then coo it, put it up in small jars, cover them with brandy papers, and keep them in a cool place.

"From The Kentucky Housewife by Lettice Bryan, 1839"

[dawna]

RICH MINCE PIE (for 12 small pies)

1 calves tongue
2 lb. beef suet (from the sirloin)
2 lb. raisins, chopped
2 lb. currants
1/2 oz. mace
1/4 oz. cloves
2 tbs. nutmeg
1 and 1/2 lb. brown sugar
5 apples, minced
rind and juice of 1 lemon
3/4 c. wine
Bits of citron
Preserved lemon peel
3-4 preserved lemons, sliced thin

Cut the root off a neat's (calves) tongue, rub the tongue well with salt, let it lie four days, wash it perfectly clean, and boil it till it becomes tender; skin, and when cold, chop it very finely. Mince as small as possible two pounds of fresh beef suet from the sirloin, stone [remove seeds from] and cut small two pounds of bloom raisins, clean nicely two pounds of currants, pound and sift half an ounce of mace and a quarter of an ounce of cloves, grate a large nutmeg, mix all these ingredients thoroughly, together with one pound and a half good brown sugar. Pack it in jars. When it is to be used, allow, for the quantity sufficient to make twelve small mince pies, five finely-minced apples, the grated rind and juice of a large lemon, add a wine glass and a half of wine; put into each [pie] a few bits of citron and preserved lemon-peel. Three or four whole green lemons, preserved in good brown sugar, and cut into thin slices,may be added to the mince meat. [Place in pie crust, with or withouttop crust, and bake.]

From The Good Housekeeper by Sarah Josepha Hale, 1841

[thea_447]

My husband concocts this usually at Labor Day because although the BBQ down at the local picnic grounds in our small town, sponsored by the Servive League and cooked by the Civitans Club is very good, their camp stew has increasingly become a mishmash of filler products and not enough meat. Since the SCV about this time of year sells whole cooked BBQ'd Boston Butts we buy five and throughout the year use them in various ways. This is but one way.

Charlie's Camp Stew
One third Boston Butt
4 Boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Cans Potato slices
2 cans Whole Kernel Corn
1 Lg. Can Crushed Tomatoes
2 Onions
Lemon juice to taste
Wooster (or Worchestershire sauce for you Yanks! LOL) to taste
BBq Sauce to taste
S and Pepper
maybe a little ketchup


In a large container on an open eye keep at low boil until meat is thoroughly stringy. ( Remember, the Boston Butt has already been thoroughly BBQ'd before starting this recipe.)

You can let this simmer all day or all night long, occasionally stirring the pot, keep it on low. Served with warm garlic bread and a salad and it's a meal fit for a hungry man.

[bama_belle]

Hubby and I have been experimenting with period recipes for camp-fire cooking. (I've been trying them out on the stove first to see if we like them!) I found this recipe online last week and tried it despite the fact that I don't care much for cooked cabbage. It was very good. I served it as a side dish with other stuff just in case we didn't like it.

Hubby all but stuck his head in the pot to lick it clean! Now, they obviously didn't have the stewed tomatoes, but that's what I had, and have made a recipe modification accordingly

1 head of green cabbage, sliced, not shredded
1 onion, thin sliced, not chopped
2 cans stewed tomatoes with juice
or 4-6 medium tomatoes cut into large chunks and 1/2 cup water
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 lb salt pork cut into small cubes

Brown salt pork in dutch oven. Toss in onion and cabbage, stir to mix, then cook down a bit. Add tomatoes and water, or canned tomatoes and other ingredients.

Cook over low-medium heat for about 2 hours on the stove (adjust accordingly for campfire or other means). It's done when it has reduced down to a nice stew and cabbage will be tender. Serve hot with hoe cakes or cornbread.

[tarheel]

I think I'll give that a try tonight bama_belle.

[bama_belle]

It was quite good. I'm thinking about experimenting with adding some corn or other vegetables to it. I'll let you know the results!

[jenna]

I recently received a subscription to the Citizen's Companion, and they featured an article on candies of the 1860's and had this recipie for Taffy from 1861:

3lb sugar
1/2 t. citric acid
butter (for pans)
1 pint of water
juice of 3 lemons or 4 oranges

three pounds of sugar disolved in a pint of water, in which half a teaspoon of citric acid has been disolved; remove scum as fast as it rises. Boil until it will crack when dropped in cold water; remove from the fire, and add the juice of three lemons or four oranges. Mix it well and boil very gently, until it is as hard as before the lemon was added; pour it in a sqare buttered pans. It should be about an eighth of an inch thick when cold. Before it hardens mark it off neatly in small blocks that it may break regularly.---- Civil War Cooking: The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia, Mrs E.F.Haskell 1861

[bama_belle]

I wonder where you'd buy the citric acid?

[Miss Amy]

Citiric acis is the common ingedient in the stuff you buy to sprinkle on fruit so it does not brown.

You can find it as a stand alone in some stores which handle "natural foods"

Miss Amy