Really Old, Really Good Recipes...

Cafe Society
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Yeah, my paternal grandmother was by all accounts an exceptional cook. Strange story: I don’t remember her cooking, because I was just beginning to realize food had to come from some place. She died when I was 5. And prior to that, food was just something I took for granted, I guess. Weird, no?

Anyways, when my grandfather went to the retirement home some years back, I was told as we were cleaning out his house, that I could take whatever I wanted. That is when I found in an old chest upstairs, this book on advice to a new wife. Were these her first recipes? I still don’t have the full story on them. But I saved them to my computer. And I thought I’d share it with all of you.

I don’t plan on making them, any time soon at least. So maybe some of you can find some use for them.

Enjoy:

GRANDMA’S LIGHTNING CAKE:

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Flour
And, 1 heaping tsp. Baking Powder

Sift these ingredients 4 times.(Sounds like a lot of work—but the end results make it worth it!)

Next, melt a piece of Butter “the size of an egg” in a 1 Cup measure. Place in 2 Eggs and fill up with Milk.(The Butter must not be too hot, or it will cause the Eggs to curdle.)

Add 1 tsp. Vanilla and stir the ingredients “hard” before you place them in [greased–?] pans.

That’s were the recipe trails off. I assume you then bake it in a Moderate (325 to 350 degrees) oven until done.
GRANDMA’S NUT BREAD:

One Egg, well-beaten, 1 cup Milk, 2 cups Flour, ¼ cup Sugar, ½ tsp. Salt, 2 tsp. Baking Powder, ½ cup Chopped Nuts. Pour in greased pans, and let stand twenty minutes. Make into one loaf bake forty minutes.
GRANDMA’S COCOA CAKE:

2 C. Brown Sugar, ½ C. Cocoa dissolved in ½ C. Boiling Water
2 Eggs, 2 C. Flour
½ C. Fat, 2 t. Baking Powder
½ C. Sour Milk, 1 t. Baking Soda

**Cream Butter and Sugar. Add slightly-beaten Eggs and beat thoroughly. Dissolve the Cocoa in the Boiling Water and add the Milk. Add Cocoa mixture to first mixture. Sift Flour, Baking Soda and Soda together and beat in thoroughly. Bake a loaf, in a moderate oven, for thirty minutes.
GRANDMA’S CHILI CON CARNE:

One or 1½ lbs. Round Steak (cut small), 1 can Red Kidney Beans, ½ can Tomatoes, 2 Onions, 2 Green Peppers (cut fine). Brown Steak in Butter and add a little Water. Simmer gently three quarters of an hour. Add the other ingredients and thicken a little if necessary.
GRANDMA’S COTTAGE PIE:

Chop cold Meat fine (or Round Steak). To every cupful add ¾ cup Gravy or Stock, season highly with Salt & Pepper and ⅛ teaspoon Summer Savory. Put into a baking dish and cover with a crust of Mashed Potatoes. Bake 20 minutes or until brown. Serve in the dish in which it was baked. Note. Do not put Milk in the Mashed Potatoes.
GRANDMA’S MAYONNAISE DRESSING:

½ t. Mustard, 1 Tb. Sugar, ½ t. Salt, 3 Tb. Vinegar, ⅛ t. Paprika, 1½ C. Salad Oil, 1 Egg.

** Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Add the well-beaten Egg and Acid. Add the Oil, a fourth of a cup at a time, beating constantly. More Acid may be used, by adding it at the Root–???.
BOILING DUMPLINGS:

2 c. Flour, ½ t. Salt; 4 t. Baking Powder; 1 scant C. Milk.

Sift dry ingredients stir in Milk gradually, with a knife, to make a soft dough. Drop quickly by the spoonful into the boiling Stew, letting them rest on the meat and potatoes. Cover closely to keep in the steam, and boil just ten minutes without lifting the cover. Serve at once.

:):):slight_smile:

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P.S I forgot to add, the recipes where in the section of the book that was written in her own hand. As I said, I still don’t know where the recipes came from. Plus, you know when you use baking powder, you have to mix the dry ingredients separately. Also, be very careful with mayonnaise. Make sure sure the eggs are very fresh, and use the sauce at once. :slight_smile:

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I don’t have any old recipes to share, but I really enjoyed reading yours. Thanks!

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Thanks for the recipes! I adore the old school recipes and am fortunate enough to have inherited handwritten recipe cards and books from both grandmothers and my mother. I have learned some wonderful secrets that I incorporate into modern cooking for terrific results.

Two quick ones:

Add 2 tsps of molasses to pumpkin pie mix. It will deepen the color of your pie a bit, but it gives the filling an incredibly rich flavor. You can’t taste the molasses, just the depth of flavor.

Replace 1/2 tsp of the 1 tsp of vanilla extract you put into Toll House cookies with almond extract. It makes the cookies a touch less sweet (they are pretty sweet already) and adds a nuttiness.

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Here’s an oldie from ‘pioneer days’ using a small pumpkin, though I would think a similar sized squash would have good results:

1 small pumpkin, top cut off and set aside. Clean,scrape out seeds and strings.

Light cream, 3 TB. of butter, 1 medium grated onion, 3 TB. of honey, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a good pinch of nutmeg

Put the pumpkin or squash upright in a baking dish. Fill it half full of cream and the other ingredients. Put the top back in place. Bake at 350 degrees about 1-1/2 hours. Scoop pumpkin out with a spoon and season to taste with more salt, butter, and nutmeg.