Tag Archives: Richmond

For Washington’s Birthday: Easy Cherry Sherbet from the 1930s

Posted on February 21, 2016 by

The 1930s – the era that brought us the Great Depression as well as an end to Prohibition – also brought us some of our most enduring kitchen convenience products, such as Miracle Whip and Bisquick. This was also the … Continue reading →

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Christmas Welcoming Bread

Posted on December 23, 2015 by

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,

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6-4-2-1 Equals a Family Cocktail

Posted on December 20, 2015 by

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.

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Sunshine in a Jar

Posted on September 12, 2015 by

Berries go into preserves, tomatoes into sauce, right? That’s what I always thought until I found my grandmother Hanna’s recipe for Yellow Tomato Preserves.

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Freshly Picked and Marinated

Posted on August 26, 2015 by

Marinated vegetables usually remind me of mushrooms dripping with oil, plus already-soggy white bread on the side. Yet a 1980s recipe from the Richmond Times-Dispatch tempted me because in the past month, I’ve eaten enough crudités to feel like Peter … Continue reading →

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Candied Virginia Tomatoes From a Surprising Source

Posted on August 9, 2015 by

Inside a booklet that promised nothing more than Great Ideas for Barbecues & Summer Meals (Family Circle, 1983), I ended up finding a recipe for Thomas Jefferson’s Candied Tomatoes sent in by someone I knew quite well — the mother of my … Continue reading →

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A ‘Cheap and Quick’ (and Comforting) Pudding from 1862

Posted on February 12, 2015 by

In any era, wartime cooking brings out the spirit of making do with whatever can be scrounged up when most supplies go to the war effort. The Confederate Receipt Book, published in Richmond in 1862 as the Civil War entered … Continue reading →

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Just Add Crab and Crackers to this Dip

Posted on December 31, 2014 by

One of my favorite sources for quick party appetizers comes from a private school in Richmond, Virginia. With its yellow and green plaid accents, the cover of the cookbook, The Stuffed Cougar (1973) from the Collegiate Schools looks the part … Continue reading →

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A Chocolate Mint Tea Room Treasure

Posted on December 23, 2014 by

Before malls swallowed up main streets, department stores reigned during the Christmas season. People lined up at display windows around the country to gawk at elaborate renditions of Santa’s village as well as mannequins in sequined party wear. The tea rooms … Continue reading →

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A Lemony Holiday Cocktail

Posted on December 17, 2014 by

My search for an historic holiday cocktail turned up endless variations of egg nog, mulled wine, and spiced/spiked coffee. The Boston-based cocktail virgin slut blog posted many tempting ideas. Yet the folder of family recipes yielded the best

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