Category Archives: History
‘Tossed Salad Superb’ for a Healthy Start
Pre-washed greens make for the simplest salad possible: open the plastic container, put the leaves in a bowl, and add dressing. In the middle of winter, when the only produce on the shelves comes from greenhouses or countries on the … Continue reading
Christmas Welcoming Bread
Take ordinary baking powder biscuits, top them with a sugary fruit and nut mix, and suddenly they transform into Christmas bread. That’s what the Michie Tavern in Charlottesville, Virginia served in the 1700’s,
6-4-2-1 Equals a Family Cocktail
The recipe paper-clipped inside one of my grandmother’s cooking pamphlets sounds like a scientific formula: 6 orange juice, 4 ging, 2 vermouth, 1 lemon.
More Joys of Jell-O
Take the ingredients of a typical Christmas dessert (dried fruits, citron, nuts, cinnamon), mix them with Jell-O and what do you get? Jell-O Plum Pudding, of course!
Fruits that Sink, Fruits that Float
Jell-O for the holidays? In the 1930s, festive molds competed with cookies on many holiday buffets.
‘Vodka Bog’ a Sweet Slog
Cranberries star in sauce on most Thanksgiving tables, but there’s no reason to stop there. This “Vodka Bog” punch from More Thoughts for Buffets (Institute Publishing) gets its kick and distinctive rosy hue from cranberry juice as well as cranberry liqueur.
A ‘Chilled and Freshened’ 1930s Canapé
As a housewife in the 1930s, my grandmother, Hanna, modernized her kitchen with the latest convenience: an electric refrigerator. The Silent Hostess Treasure Book (1932) from General Electric taught her how to use this new-fangled appliance
Portrait of a Cider Cake
Anyone with an interest in 19th century art has studied American artist James McNeill Whistler’s iconic portrait of his mother, which now hangs in the Louvre. We’ve also heard Mr. Bean, the British comic character, call Mrs. Whistler in her … Continue reading
Road Trip for ‘Green Rice’
Even before President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Highway Act that created the interstate system in 1956, Americans ventured out on road trips. In the early 1950s, they piled into the Mercury Monterey (nicknamed “the bathtub”), the Lincoln Cosmopolitan, and the … Continue reading
Puritan Pumpkins: ‘Fruit of the Lord’
Pumpkin pie will grace most Thanksgiving tables this week, including mine. Yet at the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, the pumpkin would likely have been stewed, not baked.
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