A Selection of Historic Recipes Claiming to Be "Italian" (not all fall before 1865)
Life is Uncertain, Enjoy Dessert First
From:
The Frugal Housewife: Or, Complete Woman Cook by Suzannah Carter, 1803
An Italian Pudding.
Lay puff-paste at the bottom and round the edges of the dish. Upon which pour a mixture of a pint of cream; French rolls enough to thicken it, ten eggs beaten very fine, a nutmeg grated, twelve pippins sliced, some orange peel and sugar, and half a pint of red wine. Half an hour will bake it.
The Lady's Receipt Book by Eliza Leslie, 1847
AN ITALIAN CHARLOTTE.--Take a pint of rich cream; set it on ice, and beat and stir it till it becomes a solid froth. Then boil a vanilla bean in half a pint of rich milk till it is highly flavoured. Strain the milk, and when cold mix with it six ounces of loaf-sugar and the beaten yolks of four eggs, and set it over the fire, or rather on a bed of hot coals. Boil it ten minutes, stirring it frequently. When it comes to a boil, add half a pint of clear firm jelly-stock that has been made of calves' feet, or else an ounce of isinglass that has been melted in barely as much boiling water as will cover it. Stir the mixture well, and let it remain five minutes over the fire. Then take it off, and place it on ice, stirring it till it begins to thicken. When it is about the consistence of very thick gruel, add the whipped cream. Have ready an almond sponge cake, baked in the form of a circular loaf. With a sharp knife cut out the inside of this cake carefully and smoothly; leaving the sides and bottom together, so as to form a mould not quite an inch thick. Fill this up to the top with the Charlotte mixture; and placing a large plate beneath it, set it on ice to congeal. In the mean time, prepare a meringue or icing of beaten white of egg, thickened with powdered loaf-sugar, and flavoured with extract of orange-flowers. Cover the top and sides of the Charlotte with this icing; spread on evenly, and smoothed with a knife dipped in cold water. Ornament it with coloured sugar-jelly rings, handsomely arranged, or any other nice bonbons.
Where's the Beef? Right Here!
From:
The Housekeeper's Assistant by Ann Allen, 1845
ITALIAN BEEF STEAKS.
2 lbs. of beef,1 onion,Pepper and salt.
Cut a fine large steak from a rump that has been hung, or from any tender part. Beat it, and season with pepper and onion. Lay it in an iron stew-pan, that has a cover to fit close, set it by the fire, without water. Take care it does not burn, but it must have a strong heat. In two or three hours it will be quite tender, then serve with its own gravy.
Macaroni Dishes of All Kinds:
Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book by Catherine Esther Beecher, 1846
Macaroni Soup (Mrs. F.'s Receipt).
Take six pounds of beef, and put it into four quarts of water, with two onions, one carrot, one turnip, and a head of celery. Boil it down three or four hours slowly, till there is about two quarts of water, and let it cool. Next day take off the grease, without shaking the sediment, and pour it off into the kettle, half an hour before dinner (leaving the sediment out), and add salt to suit the taste, a pint of macaroni, broken into inch pieces, and a tablespoonful and a half of tomato catsup.
Macaroni Pudding, to eat with Meat.
Simmer a quarter of a pound of macaroni in plenty of water, until it is tender. Strain off the water, and add a pint of milk or cream, an ounce of grated cheese, and a teaspoonful of salt. Mix well together, and strew over the top two ounces of grated cheese and crumbs of bread. Brown it well, in baking, on the top. It will bake in a quick oven in half an hour. It is appropriate to be eaten with boiled ham, or forms a course by itself, after meat.
Plain Macaroni or Vermacelli Puddings.
Put two ounces of macaroni, or vermacelli, into a pint of milk, and simmer until tender. Flavor it by putting in two or three sticks of cinnamon while boiling, or some other spice when done. Then beat up three eggs, mix in an ounce of sugar, half a pint of milk, and a glass of wine. Add these to the macaroni or vermacelli, and bake in a slow oven.
From:
Buckeye Cookery by Estelle Woods Wilcox, 1877
ITALIAN MACARONI.
Place two pounds of beef, well larded with strips of salt pork, and one or two chopped onions, in a covered kettle on the back of the stove, until it throws out its juice and is a rich brown; add a quart of tomatoes seasoned with pepper and salt, and allow this mixture to simmer for two or three hours. Take the quantity of macaroni desired and boil in water for twenty minutes, after which put one layer of the boiled macaroni in the bottom of a pudding dish, cover with some of the above mixture, then a layer of grated cheese, and so on in layers till the dish is filled, having a layer of cheese on the top; place in the oven an hour, or until it is a rich brown. Commence early in the morning to prepare this dish.
From:
Miss Parloa's New Cook Book by Miss Parloa, 1880
Macaroni with Cream Sauce.
Boil the macaroni as directed for the plain boiled dish. Drain, and serve with half a pint of cream sauce.
Macaroni with Tomato Sauce.
Boil and drain as directed for plain boiled macaroni. Pour over it one pint of tomato sauce.
Macaroni with Cheese.
Prepare the macaroni with the cream sauce. Turn into a buttered escalop dish. Have half a cupful of grated cheese and half a cupful of bread crumbs mixed. Sprinkle over the macaroni, and place in the oven and brown. It will take about twenty minutes.
Macaroni à l' Italienne.
Twelve sticks of macaroni (a quarter of a pound), half a pint of milk, two table-spoonfuls of cream, two of butter, one of flour, some salt, white pepper and cayenne, and a quarter of a pound of cheese. Break and wash the macaroni, and boil it rapidly for twenty minutes in two quarts of water. Put the milk on in the double boiler. Mix the butter and flour together, and stir into the boiling milk. Add the seasoning, cream and cheese. Drain, and dish the macaroni. Pour the sauce over it, and serve immediately. One table-spoonful of mustard can be stirred into the sauce if you like. If the sauce and macaroni are allowed to stand long after they are put together the dish will be spoiled. If they cannot be served immediately, keep both hot in separate dishes.
From:
White House Cookbook by F.L. Gillette, 1887
MACCARONI A LA ITALIENNE
Divide a quarter of a pound of maccaroni into four-inch pieces. Simmer fifteen minutes in plenty of boiling water, salted. Drain. Put the maccaroni into a sauce-pan and turn over it a strong soup stock, enough to prevent burning. Strew over it an ounce of grated cheese; when the cheese is melted, dish. Put alternate layers of maccaroni and cheese; then turn over the soup stock and bake half an hour.
MACCARONI AND TOMATO SAUCE.
Divide half a pound of maccaroni into four-inch pieces, put it into boiling salted water enough to cover it; boil from fifteen to twenty minutes; then drain; arrange it neatly on a hot dish, and pour tomato sauce over it, and serve immediately while hot. See "Sauces" for tomato sauce.
...and just in case you wanted to take your dinner party over the top...
another from:
White House Cookbook by F.L. Gillette, 1887
ITALIAN STYLE OF DRESSING TRUFFLES.
Ten truffles, a quarter of a pint of salad-oil, pepper and salt to taste, one tablespoonful of minced parsley, a very little finely minced garlic, two blades of pounded mace, one tablespoonful of lemon-juice.
After cleansing and brushing the truffles, cut them into thin slices, and put them in a baking-dish, on a seasoning of oil or butter, pepper, salt, parsley, garlic and mace, in the above proportion. Bake them for nearly an hour, and just before serving, add the lemon juice and send them to table very hot.
And even a cookbook of Italian favorites dating to 1919:
The Italian CookBook by Maria Gentile
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