Civil War era recipes

[donna]

I thought a collection of Civil War era recipes would be a nice addition. From other posts, I see that a lot of you are interested in cook books and recipes. I have been collecting for years. Two Civil War era recipes that are good to eat and of historic value are Mary Todd's White Cake and General Robert E. Lee's Cake.
Mary Todd's White Cake was Abraham Lincoln's favorite cake. She first made it for him while they were courting. She continued to serve the cake during all their married life including their White House years. This confection was originated by Monsieur Giron, a Lexington caterer, on the occasion of Lafayette's visit to Lexington, Ky. in 1825. The Todds, a very prominent Lexington family, got the recipe and made it their own. Mary Todd especially liked it.
The Recipe:
1 C butter
2 C sugar
3 C flour
1 C milk
1 C finely chopped almonds
3 t. baking powder
Whites of 6 eggs
1 t vaniila
Cream butter and sugar, sift flour and baking powder together 3 times, and add to butter and sugar, alternating with the milk. Stir in the almonds and beat well. Then fold in the stiffly beaten whites and the vanilla. Pour into well greased and floured pan. Can be large tube pan or 2 9x 1 1/2 inch round pans. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour or the cake tests done. The tube pan can take longer. Turn out on wire rack and cool. The tube pan makes a large cake. Than frost with white icing.
Frosting for Mary Todd's Cake
2 C sugar
2 egg whites, beaten stiff with pinch of salt
1/2 C diced candied pineapple
1 C water
1 t vanilla
1/2 C crystallized cherries, cut in halves
Boil sugar and water until syrup spins a 5-inch thread. Fold in slowly to the well beaten whites adding a tablespoon at a time until 4 have been used. Now add the remaining syrup slowly pouring it in a thin stream. Beat by hand until all is used and the mixture stands in peaks. Add the flavoring and fold in pineapple and cherries. Spread on the cake. by Donna

 

[Nathanb1]

Sounds good. I always admire those folks for going to all that trouble. I get aggravated when I have to put my mixing bowl in the dishwasher

 

[donna]

The recipe was so long decided to add additional post for General Robert E. Lee's Orange Lemon Cake.
2 cups of sifted cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar
10 eggs separated
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons lemon juice
pinch of salt
Combine first three ingredients and sift together 6 times. Set aside. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until thick and lemon colored. Reduce speed to medium and add in vegetable oil. Add flour mixture and mix till well blended. Stir in lemon rind and juice. Beat egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Pour your batter into 4 wax paper lined and greased 8 inch round pans.
Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans and peel off waxed paper. Cool your layers completely. Then add the frosting.
Orange Lemon Frosting
1/2 cup of butter softened
2 tablespoons of sour cream
2 16 oz packages of powdered sugar
1/4 cup grated orange peel
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons orange juice
Beat the above ingredients together very well with mixer. Spread a thin layer of icing between each layer and use the bulk of icing to cover the cake. It is a cake fit for a King or Queen. One for special parties or get togethers. donna

 

[ccastellani]

The Orange Lemon Cake sounds a little better than the White Cake. I would have to sample both (generous portions, of course) to make my final decision.

 

[aeryn406]

I found this link a while ago:

http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/recipedessertindex.htm

I'm going to try the Sponge cake this weekend (It was listed as a regional Fair entry, so it has to be pretty good, right?) and I'll let you all know how it turns out. I had to go on allrecipes.com to get the actual step-by-step, however, because some of these recipes just have a list of ingredients - and not a word about what to do with them! I guess they figured if you were reading about cooking, you'd already know what goes where.

 

[donna]

Thanks for link on civil war recipes. I am always looking for recipe books and recipe sites. The two recipes I gave were from book "Out of Kentucky Kitchens". It is older book which was my Mother's. It has some other civil war era recipes and lots of great recipes from Ky. cooks. I am looking for recipe for Confederate Stew. If any one comes across one , please let me know. d

 

[donna]

Some one sent me recipe for Confederate Soldier's Beef Stew. Sounds great for colder weather. Will have to make for my family.
Ingredients:
1 (3-4 pound) beef roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup bacon drippings
2 cups diced onions
1 cup diced celery
3 quarts water
4 medium potatoes, diced
3 large carrots, sliced
4 cups chopped cabbage
2 tsps salt
1 tsp pepper
Method:
In a 5 quart Dutch Oven, melt bacon drippings. Add beef and brown completely. Add onions and celery and saute until onions are slightly browned, about 5-10 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. Boil meat at a continuous rolling boil for about 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Skim any foam that forms on the surface of the water and discard. Add potatoes, carrots, cabbage and seasonings and simmer until potatoes start to break up and thicken the stew, about 15-20 minutes. If stew is too thin for your taste, mix 1 tbsp of flour and 1/4 cup water until dissolved and add to the stew while it is simmering. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.

Prep time: 3 hours
Serves 10 d.

 

[Borderruffian]

Grandma made hot water cobbler with her Great Grandmas reciepe. Had Lard instead of shortening in it.

 

[Nathanb1]

I found this link a while ago:

http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/recipedessertindex.htm

I'm going to try the Sponge cake this weekend (It was listed as a regional Fair entry, so it has to be pretty good, right?) and I'll let you all know how it turns out. I had to go on allrecipes.com to get the actual step-by-step, however, because some of these recipes just have a list of ingredients - and not a word about what to do with them! I guess they figured if you were reading about cooking, you'd already know what goes where.

Wow! That's an awesome site! I liked "Kisses and Secrets"....sounds like something adoring women would make for Stuart, and maybe stand alongside the road with little trays when he rode by....

 

[Charlotte]

I found a book at while browsing through the gift shop at the Fort that I had heard had some good recipes in it. AN ARMY WIFE'S COOKBOOK by Alice Kirk Grierson. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0911408274/?tag=civilwartalkc-20
I also have the FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE By Mrs.Child. I thought it was funny that the dedication inscription of this book was " Dedicated to those who are not ashamed of economy." I want to try the recipe for Gingerbread for our October event.

I have one other cookbook that I've used a lot to help me with learning about recipes my dad grew up with and that's OLD TIME SOUTHERN COOKING by Laurie Strickland and Elizabeth Dunn...This one's practically my kitchen bible..lol..and I mean no disrespect to the good book.

-Charlotte-

 

[Craig L Barry]

Taking the Oath
-------------------
With alcohol consumption about three times higher in the 1860s
than modern norms, I would be remiss not to suggest
a period receipt (recipe) for the Mint Julep:

MINT JULEP No. 1

3/4 to 1 cup brandy or cognac
1/2 tsp. rum
2 and 1/2 tbs. water
1 tbs. sugar
Several fresh mint leaves

Dissolve one tablespoon of white pulverized sugar in two and one-half tablespoons of water. Take two sprigs of fresh mint and press them well in the sugar and water, until the flavor of mint is extracted; add one wine glass of Cognac brandy, and fill the glass with fine shaved ice, then draw out the sprigs of mint and insert them in the ice with the stems downward, so that the leaves will be above, in the shape of a bouquet; arrange berries, and small pieces of sliced orange on top in a tasty manner, dash with Jamaican rum, and sprinkle white sugar on top. Place a straw across the top of the glass, and there is your mint julep.

From Bon-Vivant's Companion by Jerry Thomas, New York, 1862.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My personal receipt for the Mint Julep requires two seperate glasses for mixing.
Put a double shot of Kentucky bourbon in one glass, and masticate the mint,
water and sugar in the other. Throw out the glass with the mint and drink the bourbon.

 

[Henry]

Brownwater Cocktail- not a period recipe, inspired by period events, mixed by proportion:

3 parts strongly brewed Coffee, 1 part Orange Juice, 1 part White Rum, Oakwood Splinter and Duckweed garnish optional.

 

[donna]

Several years ago when we were in Atlanta , as my husband was attending annual meeting of professional association he belonged to, I was able to take several bus tours provided for the wives. On one of the tours we went to Lovejoy Plantation which at time was home of the late Betty Talmadge. Mrs Talmadge was the former wife of Herman E. Talmadge, former Senator from Georgia. When she lived in Washington she was known for her luncheons and parties. Betty Talmadge gave us lunch and tour of the Plantation and told of its history in Civil War. She showed the bullet holes that were still in the walls of house. We were lucky to be given her new book, Betty Talmadge's Lovejoy Plantation Cookbook. It is full of great stories and recipes. She was a very delightful person with many wonderful stories. I highly recommend this book to those who collect recipe books.

 

[Nathanb1]

I found a book at while browsing through the gift shop at the Fort that I had heard had some good recipes in it. AN ARMY WIFE'S COOKBOOK by Alice Kirk Grierson. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0911408274/?tag=civilwartalkc-20
I also have the FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE By Mrs.Child. I thought it was funny that the dedication inscription of this book was " Dedicated to those who are not ashamed of economy." I want to try the recipe for Gingerbread for our October event.

I have one other cookbook that I've used a lot to help me with learning about recipes my dad grew up with and that's OLD TIME SOUTHERN COOKING by Laurie Strickland and Elizabeth Dunn...This one's practically my kitchen bible..lol..and I mean no disrespect to the good book.

-Charlotte-

Alice Grierson, as you probably know, was the much-loved spouse of Col. Benjamin Grierson of Grierson's Raid fame. She followed him across the frontier after the ACW, with stops in Texas at Ft. Concho and Ft. Davis....if she could cook with West Texas alkali water, you have to give her credit.....

 

[diane]

My great-aunt (South Carolina) kept a jar of fruit - all kinds - in some kind of fermented juice for years. It was always on the counter in the kitchen, every so often she'd throw something into it - cherries, plums, peaches, lemons, whatever was around - with some sugar, and stir it up. It was sweet, syrupy and definitely had a kick. (Although great-aunt was a stout tee-totaler and vowed 'no likker, bahr, ner strong drank' came into her household!) She usually served it over vanilla ice cream or pound cake. Does anybody know what this might be? She said it was handed down from before the CW. It was very good! I'm pretty sure I should have been 21 before eating it, though...

By the way, I ran across a recipe title (but no recipe) I found intriguing - supposed to be from CW. Confederates on Horseback! That has a nice cavalry ring - does anybody know what it is?

 

[donna]

Here is the recipe for Confederates On Horseback:
Sm. rounds of bread, Drained oysters, Thin slice of bacon, spread with anchovy paste or horseradish, Toothpicks.
Toast bread to light brown and butter lightly. Wrap oysters in bacon and secure with a toothpick. Bake at 400 degrees about 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Drain well and remove the toothpick. (I substitute boiled chicken livers for oysters to change). Serve on toast.
This recipe was found in an 1873 Natchez cookbook, and someone had penciled in the margin."It got us through the war". It is delicious.

 

[donna]

My Grandmother made a fruit topping for dessert. It did contain alcohol. It called:
Brandied Fruit Melange
Ingredients: 1 pt pure alcohol, 1 lb rock candy, 1 lb granulated sugar to every pound of fruit in season

Put alcohol and rock candy into a 3-gallon crock and stir until candy dissolves. Add a pound of granulated sugar to every pound of fruit in season- cherries, peaches, pears, pineapple, raspberries and strawberries. Use small fruits whole; peel peaches and pears and cut in eighths; peel and dice pineapple. Do not use bananas, grapes or apples. Fruit and sugar may be added from time to time. Each time that sugar is added, stir until it dissolves. Keep lid on the crock when not in use, and store in a cool, dark place. Do not use fruit until three weeks after the last batch added. This sauce is wonderful as a topping for ice cream, puddings and other desserts.

 

[diane]

donna,

Thanks! Oysters and bacon? I do think the chicken livers sound better! Sounds like something I'm going to try.

Do you think that's what my great-aunt was making? Sure sounds right. It starts off with real alcohol, then? This is very interesting! She had the start from her mother. Is it something like sour dough starter - you just keep adding to the original batch? (It wasn't always very cool in auntie's kitchen, though - especially when she started canning!)

 

[donna]

diane,

It is like sour dough starter. She made up extra jars and gave to friends and family. It can be passed down for a long time. I did find another recipe that was same except used Brandy . It still seems to be alcohol as the base. My Grandmother always had a cellar where she kept all her canned goods and things that needed to stay cool. Her kitchen was hot too as she did a lot of cooking all day. She had to feed all the farm hands that worked for my Grandfather. He raised tobacco , corn and other things that needed helpers. She also did all her own canning and baking. She was a great cook.

 

[diane]

donna,

Yes, those old gals could sure cook! Auntie had a farm but it was just barely enough to keep the family going - she did keep the fruit jar on the counter against the ice box, which was a real ice box. There was no cellar, the house was just raised up because the creek tended to raise up, too. I think it's funny she believed there was no alcohol in it! My husband's great-great-grandparents were German immigrants who set up in Wisconsin. They had a big hotel there and ran a bakery in the cellar. It was huge but very cool. They did all the cooking down there. Their claim to fame was running off Jesse James' gang for being rowdy - a few days later they hit Northfield Minnesota! Frank James took up with one of the daughters, who was five at the time, and played with her the whole time he was there - she remembered sitting on his lap. The hotel is still there but the family moved to Idaho for some unknown reason. I'd like to see if anyone has the recipes from their bakery!