Easter Eggs to Deviled Eggs

Deviled-Eggs

Photo credit: Rebecca Penovich

 

This Easter was a bit divergent for us.  Joe’s spring break was very short (making up snow days) and we didn’t go to see my family in Florida.  Even though we were home, we didn’t host the neighborhood Easter egg hunt and picnic lunch (which we have done in years past).

We did do something new, though.  We went to the circus!

Circus

A shower of confetti at the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus show.
Photo: John Penovich

 

I still remember the first time my dad took me to the ‘big’ circus in St. Paul at the convention center.  The thrill of it all:  the crowd, the tightrope walkers, the clowns, the smell of popcorn and elephant poop!

Oh maybe not that.

The circus in 2014 was an exciting and updated show with live pop music, dancers, basketball-playing unicyclers, and death-defying daredevils flying through the air but the spectacle was tempered by our feelings for the elephants and the tigers knowing what we know as responsible adults and citizens of the planet.

Plus, the Ringling Brothers shot John’s wallet out of a cannon.

Jelly-Beans-Easter

This is not a photo of what John’s wallet would look like if it exploded.  But close.
Photo credit: Rebecca Penovich

 

After the circus outing, we received an impromptu invitation from our next-door neighbors to join them for dinner and we ambled on over.

Now that Joe is almost 12 and has grown out of ‘baby-ish’ egg hunts and decorating eggs, I was missing some of the Easter traditions.  Much to my delight our host and hostess (who are both fine artists) broke out the dye, crayons, brushes, wax, and hard-boiled eggs and we went to town at their dining room table while drinking Pimm’s Cups and wine.

John's rendition of the Mona Lisa on his Easter egg.

John’s rendition of the Mona Lisa on his Easter egg.

 

Easter-Eggs

Photo: Rebecca Penovich

 

Quite fun even without children!

Some things never go out of style (like the circus and Easter eggs), so here is a classic deviled egg recipe for you (with a spicy twist).

 

Ingredients

  • 1 dozen large eggs (hard boiled and peeled)
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise (Hellman’s  preferred)
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon sriracha sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon bottled horseradish
  • 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt (to your taste)
  • Couple of grinds of fresh black pepper (optional)
  • Sweet paprika and/or small capers for garnish

Directions

This is the Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) method:

  • In a medium saucepan, cover the eggs with cold water and bring to a rolling boil. Cover, remove from the heat and let stand for exactly 12 minutes. (NOTE:  Set a timer!  If you use less than the dozen eggs and thus, a smaller pan you will need to adjust the time accordingly.)
  • Immediately drain the warm water and  cover the eggs in the pan with cold water. Let stand until the eggs are cool.
  • Drain and peel the eggs; pat dry. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise.
  • Scoop out the yolks and transfer to a bowl.  Smash the yolks with a fork.
  • Add the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sriracha, horseradish and blend together until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.
  • Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip or a teaspoon, fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture.  (NOTE:  In lieu of a pastry bag I use a plastic sandwich bag and cut a small slit in one corner.)
  • Arrange the eggs on a platter, sprinkle with paprika and place a small caper on each egg half.

 

Classic deviled eggs (with a kick of horseradish and sriracha.)

Classic deviled eggs (with a kick of horseradish and sriracha)
Plate by Wedgwood, a reproduction of a Queensware service designed by Josiah Wedgwood in 1770.

 

Poached Salmon with Shallot, Tarragon, Dill Sauce

 

Poached Salmon with Shallot, Tarragon, Dill Sauce

Poached salmon is lovely and light for lunch or dinner.
Photo credit: Rebecca Penovich

I was inspired to make salmon with a dill sauce in tribute to the Sochi Olympics 2014 kicking off on Friday.  As I researched online about traditional Russian foods and in a book I own called A Year of Russian Feasts by Catherine Cheremeteff Jones, I realized I know very little about Russian cuisine.

Not one salmon recipe in “A Year of Russian Feasts.”   No salmon in this well-researched article from the Vancouver Sun, “Russian Food, Beyond Pierogies and Cabbage Rolls.”

"Meat, Fowl and Brussels Sprouts Against the Window" by Pyotr Konchalovsky (1937)

“Meat, Fowl and Brussels Sprouts Against the Window” by Pyotr Konchalovsky (1937)

What I discovered were lots of recipes with walnuts (chicken with walnuts, salads with walnuts, walnut sauces, walnut cakes), dumplings, cheese blini, kasha, beets, cabbage, and a popular potato salad called Olivier which incorporates peas, carrots, and salted cucumbers with mayonnaise dressing.

There is much to explore and the cuisine is as vast and varied as the country itself. Mia Stainsby enlightens us in her article “Russian Food, Beyond Pierogies and Cabbage Rolls”:

“Russian food is closely connected to the food of neighbouring countries like Ukraine, the Baltic Republics, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Azerbaijan; they were formerly part of the former Soviet Union.”

While the skiers, snowboarders, and figure skaters in Sochi will be tucking into shish kebab with lamb and vegetables, smoked fish and pickled vegetables, you can make this poached salmon with an easy side of pirozhki from the refrigerator case.

Photo credit: Rebecca Penovich

Photo credit: Rebecca Penovich

Poached Salmon with Shallot, Tarragon, & Dill Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 salmon filets (about 6 oz each, 1-inch thick) (I leave the skin on to protect it from drying out while simmering)
  • 4 cups chicken stock (I used homemade but you could also use a white wine and water/stock combination)
  • 1 T. chopped shallot
  • Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

For the sauce:

  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 T. poaching liquid from the salmon
  • 1 T. chopped shallot
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
  • pinch of kosher salt

Directions

  • In a deep 10-inch skillet with straight sides, bring stock to a simmer.
  • Add the chopped shallot and simmer 2 minutes.
  • Season salmon filets on both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper.
  • Submerge 4 salmon filets, skin sides down, in one layer in the simmering liquid. Cover and poach at a bare simmer, about 8 minutes, or until just cooked through and light pink.
  • Transfer cooked salmon with a slotted spatula to a platter.
  • When salmon is cool enough to handle, peel off skin if desired.  Salmon may be cooked 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
Photo credit:  Rebecca Penovich

Photo credit: Rebecca Penovich

To make the sauce:

  • Gently heat the sour cream in a small, heavy-bottomed sauce pan over very low heat. (You don’t want it to curdle.)
  • Add 1 T. of the poaching liquid and the chopped shallots
  • Warm the sour cream (don’t simmer it) and stir with wooden spoon for 3 minutes to let shallots release their juice.
  • Take off the heat and add tarragon, dill, and pinch of salt.
  • Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste. (If you like more dill, add it.  I like lots of tarragon flavor.)

Go team USA!

U.S. skier Joss Christensen gets in a practice run for Ski Slopestyle ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Extreme Park at Rosa Khutor Mountain. (Lars Baron / Getty Images / February 4, 2014)

U.S. skier Joss Christensen gets in a practice run for Ski Slopestyle ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Extreme Park at Rosa Khutor Mountain. (Lars Baron / Getty Images / February 4, 2014)

An Unapologetically Retro Dip

Braunschweiger pate

 

Braunschweiger Pâté

Anyone with any knowledge at all of French cuisine will scoff at calling this pâté, but I certainly can’t call it “meat dip” and get anyone to try it, now can I?

My mom broke out this retro appetizer at Christmastime and it is really tasty despite its homely looks.  For you skeptics out there, I made this for friends in college and a Corks & Cake college friend reached out to say she had a request from another college friend for the recipe!  That’s almost 28 years later, people!  (Gulp!  I just divulged my real age.)

It is very easy and makes a large quantity, so save this to try when you are having a cocktail or holiday party or when you have multiple pot lucks to contribute to.  (A little goes a long way to satisfy, and believe me, this dip is rich so you don’t want a large quantity lurking in your refrigerator for days and days after you’ve had your fill.) Share it, baby!

Braunschweiger pate ingredients

 

Ingredients

  • 1 16 oz. package of Braunschweiger (pork liver sausage); I use Kahn’s brand that I find in my grocer’s deli section
  • 8 oz. Philadelphia brand cream cheese, softened (NOTE:  do not use the whipped kind, it has too much air and contains more emulsifiers)
  • 2 T. grated yellow onion (NOTE:  it is important that the onion is grated, not minced.  That will give you a wonderful, juicy mush to intoxicate your pâté with. Break out the box grater.
  • 1 1/2 T. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder (NOTE:  I don’t recommend chopped fresh garlic here because you want a perfectly smooth paste without bits of garlic for your guests to bite into on their cracker.
  • 1/4 tsp.Worcestershire sauce

Directions

  • Mash the Braunschweiger and the cream cheese with a fork in a mixing bowl until incorporated.
  • Fold in all the other ingredients.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  You can serve right away but I find that the flavors develop better overnight.

Serve with your favorite retro crackers.  I’m partial to Triscuits Original.  Melba toasts if you are old school.  Ritz crackers if you are a junk food hedonist.  Carr’s Water Crackers if you are a snob (just kidding.)

Cheers!  And enjoy your 'meat dip' with a dirty martini or an IPA.  Photo credit: Chip Pye.

Cheers! And enjoy your ‘meat dip’ with a dirty martini or an IPA.
Photo credit: Chip Pye.

 

My Vintage Kitchen Column for OKRA magazine: Cardamom Sour Cream Pound Cake with Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

Cardamom Sour Cream Pound Cake with Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

Last month for my assignment as the Vintage Kitchen columnist over at OKRA magazine, I tested an old Alabama recipe for Cardamom Sour Cream Pound Cake with Burnt Sugar Ice Cream.

The recipe came from Sook’s Cookbook, Memories and Traditional Receipts from the Deep South which I came across in a box at an estate sale.  The cookbook is a compendium of old recipes from the Faulk family of Monroeville, Alabama.  Sook Faulk was Truman Capote’s great aunt and her special fruitcakes are immortalized in Capote’s lovely and sad short story “A Christmas Memory.”

Compiled by Marie Rudisill, Sook’s niece, the recipes date as far back as 1836 in plantation record books.  Marie and Truman started work on the cookbook in 1947 but put it aside until 1972 when they collaborated again, mostly by phone.

Marie wrote a great deal about the characters in the Faulk household:  the cook, Little Bit; Corrie, the housekeeper and sometime cook; Sem Muscadine, another cook and handyman; and Truman, Aunt Jenny, and Aunt Sook.

Truman Capote's Aunt Sook, as illustrated by Barry Moser.

Truman Capote’s Aunt Sook, as illustrated by Barry Moser.

 

The cookbook is a charmer and the pound cake and ice cream recipes were fantastic!   I will definitely be making these again.  Pop over to OKRA, the digital magazine for the Southern Food and Beverage Institute (SoFAB), and check it out.

 

 

Life Is What Happens While You’re Making Other [blog] Plans

Land ahoy!  The Yachtsmen in the Palisades Parade.

Land ahoy! The Yachtsmen in the Palisades Parade.

 

We’ve had a busy two weeks with daily swim team practices, meets on Wednesday nights, parent volunteer jobs, dinner parties, potlucks, Fourth of July celebrations and basic life, hence no Corks & Cake posts for 17 days.  Unacceptable, I say!

I set a personal goal when we launched this blog to post at least 3 times/week (which is almost nothing in blog-land).  It is mind-blowing to me that all these talented, talented women and men in the blogosphere post original content with highly styled photographs sometimes 3 times/day, 7 days a week.

Seriously, how are they not chained to their computers with their cameras in one hand and a whisk in another?

My hat is off to them, even through my slacker chagrin.

Glorious Old Glory decor on the walk to the parade.

Glorious Old Glory decor on the walk to the parade.

 

So, my dear Corks & Cakers, I promise to catch up.  And just so you don’t think me too much of a slacker, here’s a roundup of what we’ve been cooking and serving in the kitchen on Lee Street.

Art student, Sam, creates our Relay Food Deliciously Local Foods party menu.

Art student, Sam, creates our Relay Food Deliciously Local Foods party menu.

 

We had a very fun, very tasty dinner party outside for 29 guests (including children.)  Whew.  Did I just say dinner for 29?  Yes!  Relay Foods (an online farm stand and specialty food delivery business based in Charlottesville, VA) teamed with House Party and selected several hosts and hostesses in the mid-Atlantic region to host a party featuring local products available through Relay Foods.  I ordered local cheeses, salami, sausages, produce, relishes, and rounded it out with ice cream, vegetarian side dishes and all-beef hot dogs for the kids.

 

Lovely local cheeses and black truffle salami.

Lovely local cheeses and black truffle salami.  Photo courtesy of Peter Krogh Photography.

Krogh_130628_7565

Photo courtesy of Peter Krogh Photography.

 

It was a great undertaking (deserving of an upcoming post all its own) made more complex by the off-and-on rainy weather.  The only way to pull something like that off is to have lots of good friends who know you well, have dined with you often, and who will jump in where needed and come early to help with all the last-minute prep.  Thank you to all!

On July 4th, my first ‘Vintage Kitchen’ column for OKRA magazine (the online magazine for the Southern Food & Beverage Institute) was published!  Read it here.

A taste test of Vintage Punch recipes for OKRA magazine.

A taste test of Vintage Punch recipes for OKRA magazine.

Titled “Drink Like the Revolutionaries:  Vintage Punch for the Fourth of July” it was much fun to research old recipes and more fun to drink the research!

After the July 4th parade (which my husband’s band, The Yachtsmen, were in), we reveled poolside for a live rock and roll set in the hot, hot sun.

 

The Yachtsmen in the drink after a set in the scorching sun.

The Yachtsmen in the drink after a set in the scorching sun.

 

In the pool:  The Yachtsmen.  On the grill:  jerk chicken.

 

Walkerswood Jerk Sauce is a fabulous (and easy) marinade for chicken.

Grace Jerk Seasoning is a fabulous (and easy) marinade for chicken.

 

We also took it easy this week by relying on some of our favorite prepared foods:  Costco’s lime-marinated flank steak (ready-to-grill) and Edwards’ Key Lime Pie.

 

So good and almost gone.

So good and almost gone.

 

We hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend too!

 

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Birthday, America!

 

 

 

 

 

Feelin’ Crabby: Part One

Corks & Cake Contributor: Kathryn Michel

Drinks on the veranda.

Drinks on the veranda.  Photo by Allison Beuker.

 

Our guest contributor today is Kathryn Michel, a native Marylander who grew up in Potomac.  Kathryn has served as Social Secretary to several prominent Washington hostesses and is a consummate event planner.  She’s planned parties in just about every venue around town from the White House, to the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Corcoran, and the Capitol building.  In addition to her passion for parties she has a passion for animal rescue work, in particular with horses.  She is also riotously funny (I can attest!) and is a great person to have on board during a complex event because she keeps her cool.

 

Blue crab, wild caught in the USA. (This is from Virginia, not Maryland, full disclosure.)

Blue crab, wild caught in the USA. (This brand is from Virginia, not Maryland, full disclosure.)
Photo by Rebecca Penovich.

 

The lady knows her way around a crab cake (the most popular party appetizer in these parts).  She, Allison, and I agree that our favorite crab cake is the classic Maryland crab cake and by that we mean NO FUNNY STUFF.  No tarragon, no potato chips, no green peppers, no bacon, no artichoke hearts, just stop it already you crazy chefs!

 

 Title page of this vintage tome reads:  To The Generations Of Maryland Cooks Who Since 1634 Have Blended The Fruits Of Bay, Field and Forest Into Maryland's Way Photo by John Penovich.

Title page of this vintage tome reads: To The Generations Of Maryland Cooks Who Since 1634 Have Blended The Fruits Of Bay, Field and Forest Into Maryland’s Way
Photo by John Penovich.

 

My go-to crab cake recipe comes from the venerable Maryland’s Way Cook Book, published by the Hammond-Harwood House Association in 1966.  The Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis was built in 1774 by the colonial architect, William Buckland, and is on the National Historic Landmark registry.

There are five recipes for crab cakes in this vintage book (out of 21 for crab in general.) The one I call for is the one named “Yardley’s Crab Cakes.”  I don’t know who Yardley was (no surname) but the credit lists Baltimore Sun under his name.  A very cursory Google search leads us to believe this recipe could have originated with either a very popular cartoonist with the Baltimore Sun newspaper named Yardley, or a prominent Baltimore gastroenterologist named John Howard “Jack” Yardley.  Culinary sleuths, please report out in the comments if you have any intel.

Use the best lump crab meat that you can afford and treat it gently.  Don’t try to stretch it with too much filler, just make the cakes baby-size and let everyone enjoy one perfect bite of the dish that speaks to the heart of Maryland cuisine:  fresh seafood from the Chesapeake Bay, enhanced but not covered up.

I change it up sometimes by adding lots more parsley and less bread.

Crab cakes dressed for company with sriracha remoulade. Photo by John Penovich.  Food styling by Rebecca Penovich.

Crab cakes dressed for company with sriracha remoulade.
Photo by John Penovich. Food styling by Rebecca Penovich.

Yardley’s Crab Cakes from Maryland’s Way Cookbook

1 pound lump crab meat
1 egg
2 slices white bread
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon prepared mustard (Grey Poupon Dijon, preferred)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
Pull inside of bread into small pieces, soak well in beaten egg with mustard and seasonings, add crab meat (trying not to break it).  Form into cakes and cook until brown in 2 T. very hot bacon fat (or butter).  Makes 6 big cakes or 16 golf-ball size cakes.
Enjoy!
Rebecca’s Notes:  I whirred my bread in the food processor to get coarse crumbs before soaking.  I find that chilling the formed crab cakes in the refrigerator (under plastic wrap) for at least 30 minutes before pan-frying helps them keep their shape.  If you do chill them, you might want to put them in a warm oven (350 ° for 5-6 minutes) after getting a good browning on both sides to ensure that they are warm throughout but not overcooked.
In Feelin’ Crabby Part Two:  Kathryn shares her grandmother’s celebrated dinner party dish of Deviled Crab and Rebecca offers up a modern take on the Maryland crab cake from chef Tom Douglas, author of I Love Crab Cakes.

Classic Mint Julep, 1937

DSC_0009

Photo by Allison Beuker.

 

Vintage cookbooks and especially community, church, and Junior League recipe collections offer a lens into the food culture of the time–what was fashionable, what was available, and what was deemed good enough for “company” or for at least putting forth for a fundraiser for your church or social group.  One thing I love reading through are the recipes for punch and cocktails.  I love that the recipes usually have the name of the contributor as part of the title: “Sue Emory’s Eggnog” for example. It makes me think: Who was Sue? Was her eggnog really good? Did she throw the best Christmas party? Did Bob the tee-totaller get sauced on her eggnog and end up wearing the lampshade on his head in 1952?

 

DSC_0068

Photo by Allison Beuker.

The best old recipes have excellent ‘head notes’ (you know, those descriptions preceding the ingredients that tell you the why, what for, provenance, special notes or anecdotes about the recipe to follow.) Read the head note and if makes you want to try the recipe right then and there, then it’s a good one.

DSC_0050

Doesn’t this make you thirsty?
Photo by Allison Beuker.

A little late for Derby Day, I know, but this recipe for a Mint Julep from “Queen Anne Goes to the Kitchen, Third Edition” produced by The Episcopal Women of St. Paul’s Parish of Centreville, Maryland is a gem. Produced for the tricentennial of the founding of St. Paul’s Parish (that’s 300 years ya’ll), this church cookbook has some of the most pithy and interesting head notes I’ve ever read and some of the best Old-School recipes for classic Chesapeake cooking.

So with no further introduction, I give you “Mint Julep” reproduced in its entirety.

MINT JULEP
This recipe is extracted from a letter of Colonel S.B. Buckner, Jr., U.S. Infantry, Ft. George G. Meade, MD, to Major General William D. Conner, West Point, NY, dated March 30, 1937.

cool, clear spring water (bottled)

lots of fresh mint
a good Kentucky bourbon
sugar bowl
row of silver goblets and spoons
ice

In a canvas bag pound twice as much ice as you think you will need. Make it fine as snow and keep it dry.

In each goblet put a heaping teaspoon of sugar, barely cover with spring water and slightly bruise one mint leaf into this mixture, leaving the spoon in the goblet. Pour bourbon to make about 1/4 full. Wipe goblet dry and embellish copiously with mint.

Then comes the important and delicate operation of frosting. By proper manipulation of the spoon, the ingredients are circulated and blended until the goblet is encrusted with frost.

Colonel Buckner ends: “Thus harmoniously blended by the deft touches of a skilled hand, you have a beverage eminently appropriate for honorable men and beautiful women.”

” When all is ready, assemble your guests on the porch or in the garden, where the drama of the juleps will rise heaven-ward and make the birds sing…Being overcome by thirst, I can write no further.”

 

–S.B. Buckner, Jr., Col., U.S. Infantry

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Vintage sterling shot measures.
Photo by Allison Beuker.

Integral to the enjoyment of Mint Juleps, in addition to the fine technique instructions of Colonel Buckner (above), the fine company to drink them with, and the wrap-around porch, are the accoutrements that go with making them.  These vintage sterling shot measures are engraved with ‘Little Shot’ (1 oz. marked on the bottom), ‘Just A Shot’ (1 1/2 oz on bottom) and ‘Big Shot’ (marked 2 ounces on bottom.)

The Colonel’s cocktail instructions just say to fill your silver goblet up 1/4 way with bourbon after your shaved ice and muddled mint are in.  The amount of bourbon would depend on the size of your goblet (and here we photographed some genteel sterling punch cups). We can imagine the Southern porch parties gone awry as characters mix their own bourbon and ice ratios.  In fact, I’m sure great Southern novels came out of that phenomenon.

 

 

On Moms, Vintage Cookbooks, and Heirlooms

Some of our most-cherished heirlooms, right up there among old silver and art, are the vintage kitchen hand-me-downs like these old cookbooks from our mothers and grandmothers.

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Photo by Allison Beuker.

We love their splattered pages, the notes in the margins, and particularly the inscriptions in that beautiful old handwriting.

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Photo by Allison Beuker.

This is John’s mother’s signature on her copy of  “How To Cook His Goose (and Other Wild Games)” published in 1973.  This always brings a smile to my face, not only because of that cheeky title, but because I can imagine Eleanor actually cooking a recipe from it for the wild goose or duck that John’s dad would hunt on the Eastern Shore (of Maryland.)

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Photo by Allison Beuker.

This first edition of the “I Hate To Cook Book” from 1960 was given to Allison’s mom by her mom in 1963  when Pat (‘Patty’ in the affectionate inscription) was starting out as a young wife.  There’s even a note from the same year tucked inside advising the newlywed, “I can recommend heartily the Skid Road Stroganoff, Saturday Chicken, Aunt Bebe’s Bean Bowl, and Sub Gum Yuk.”

The inscription is endearing, “For Patty, who is already an excellent cook” because while the book title would suggest her interests and abilities lay elsewhere, Allison’s mom is indeed to this day an excellent and avid cook.  There are some oddly good recipes in there, and the whole edition is a quirky and fun read.  While researching this post, I discovered that the publishers reissued this book in 2010 for a new generation of I Hate To Cook cooks.  We look forward to highlighting some of the gems and downright hilarious recipe headnotes in future posts.

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Photo by Allison Beuker.

I’ve saved this old envelope with my mom’s handwritten recipe for Raw Apple Cake.  This must have been a very popular recipe (and a traditional one too) considering the number of Google hits one gets for it.  I have to say I haven’t made it yet because Mom’s recipe doesn’t say whether to peel the apples or not and I don’t have a memory of the cake.  I’ve transcribed the recipe for you at the end of the post.  If you try it, let us know in the Comments section how it compares to your Nana’s.  And if you peeled the apples or not.

I also found a handwritten copy of my grandmother’s recipe for Date Pudding which I assume was a family favorite back in the 1930s or 40s.  Dates are back in fashion now and I will give this recipe a try in the fall; I suspect it’s more cake-like or bread pudding-like and was probably served with a “hard sauce” although she was a teetotaler.  Grandmother Cullen was a Home Economics teacher in her small town in the Midwest and that is her journal in the background (in the photo above) with notes and instructions for homekeeping and meal planning.  I love that you can see my mother’s name, Norma, in the upper right.

 

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Sad clown lives in attic.
Photo by Allison Beuker.

Some heirlooms are less than fabulous in today’s taste.

But we will never, ever give this sad clown up, even if it has to live in the attic, because of this heartfelt inscription to my husband on the back.

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“Made with so much love for John in the Autumn of 1962 before he was born by his Mother.”

Happy Mother’s Day to Eleanor, Norma, Pat, Hazel, and Nellie (both in heaven and on Earth.)  And Happy Mother’s Day to you moms out there.

Hugs,

Rebecca and Allison

 

RAW APPLE CAKE (as written by Norma Lee Horton)

Rebecca’s notes in brackets.  [Note that I also changed her original abbreviation “t” to “tsp” so that we are not confused between the modern abbreviation for tablespoon (T) and teaspoon (tsp)]

Cream [together]:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Add and mix well:

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. soda [she means baking soda]

2 tsp. cinnamon

Stir [in] 4 cups finely diced apple [peeled or not, Mom?]

1 cup chopped nuts [she would have used walnuts or possibly pecans if she had them]

Bake 45 min at 350.

9 x 13 loaf pan  [we wouldn’t call this a loaf pan anymore]