Republished from RecoveredRecipes.com

When I started Recovered Recipes last year, I felt as though I might be the only person interested in rediscovering old recipes. In an age of online recipe sharing and food blogging, I worried vintage recipes might be doomed.

Over the months, I’ve come to meet others who share my passion for preserving the past and I am hopeful we can save an important piece of our heritage. Jane Garrett, an avid recipe collector herself, was one of my first readers and is very much a recipe card preservationist. Jane contacted me recently to announce the publication of her book, The Market Basket: Cooking and Eating in Lawrence, Kansas 1921-1949.

I recently received a review copy and as I flipped through it, I could feel Jane’s passion on every page. The book captures over 500 recipes published in the Lawrence-Journal World newspaper as part of a weekly recipe competition held from 1921-1949. Jane lovingly transcribed the recipes and compiled them into this thoughtful collection.

In addition to the recipes, you’ll find vintage advertisements, menus,and local stories found in the newspaper at that time. I particularly enjoyed a list showing 1932 grocery prices — would anyone like 1 lb. of beef roast for 18 cents per pound?

In another snippet from 1944, it’s noted that beef supplies are slim during the war time, “Since the invasion started, local markets report beef has been a scarce article and several stores practically out of beef.” It continues by noting the shortage was expected to last 6-8 weeks.

I immediately felt attached to a small city in Kansas I had never visited.

The book spans 250 pages, entirely in black and white, illustrated with vintage artwork and reprinted newspaper clippings. Chapters include beverages, salads, breads, sandwiches, pancakes and doughnuts, soups, main courses, noodles and vegetables.

I reached out to Jane and asked her a few questions to which you’ll find her answers below. If you’d like to receive your own copy of this book, please visit Jane’s website to purchase this book.

What inspired you to write this book?

A single recipe. I was amusing myself one afternoon at the local library, sitting at the microfilm reader, “flipping” through a 1933 issue of the local newspaper. In the supermarket ads section, I spotted a recipe for “Mrs. Shultz’s Apple Butter,” and noticed that it was a prize-winner in a weekly contest sponsored by the newspaper. That’s all it took to hook me. I wanted to know when the contest began and when it ended, and I wanted every single recipe that was selected as a winner.

From beginning to end, how long did the book take to write?

After finding Mrs. Shultz’s apple butter recipe, I returned to the library day after day–whenever I had a spare couple of hours. I was a chef’s apprentice, working full time and enrolled in a rigorous program, so my time was limited. But, after 18 months of chipping away at it, I amassed 1,400 prize-winning recipes, one for every week of 28 years. For the next five and a half years, I organized the recipes in two volumes (this one and the second, yet-to-be published one), and illustrated them with old newspaper ads, menus, etc. I also included food-related stories that ran in the local paper during that time. Essentially, it took me seven years to put this book together (and the one that will follow).

In rediscovering these recipes, what did you learn about the women, ingredients or cooking conditions of the time period?

These women truly labored to put food on the table. They grew and canned their own food. They baked their own bread, rolls, pies and cakes. They boned, cut and ground their own meat. They raised and processed their own poultry. Everything was made from scratch. Convenience foods were unheard of back then. Nothing much was easy–especially when money was scarce and food was rationed. How spoiled we are today !

Is there a particular recipe or contestant which caught your fancy?

There’s one recipe in the book that’s near and dear to my heart: Mrs. Pearson’s Muffins. It’s just an ordinary little recipe, but what makes it special to me is the address of the author: 1336 Massachusetts St., which happens to be my former address, my home of 17 years, a two-story 100-year-old residence complete with high ceilings, dark, dark woodwork, and a quirky old Depression-era kitchen. So many times I imagined Mrs. Pearson–a woman I’ve never known–bending over to put her pan of muffins in the oven.

Since the book focuses primarily on main courses and side dishes, can we expect a dessert book to follow?

Yes! The next volume–The Market Basket Vol. II: More Cooking and Eating In Lawrence, Kansas, 1921-1949–features mostly sweets. Its chapters are: Putting Up Fruits and Berries; Cookies, Bars, Candy and Pastry; Cakes, Icings and Fillings; Pies and Cobblers; Puddings and Custards; Ice Creams, Sherbets and Ices; More Sweets–From Bavarians to Whips; and Menus. In this volume is a cake recipe made for President Coolidge, recipes for old English plum puddings, all kinds of jams and jellies, and hundreds of other treats, including Anise Seed Cookies, Baked Apple Flowers, Pineapple Betty, Apple Dumplings with Lemon Sauce, Orange Meringue Pie, Banana Sherbet, etc. etc. There’s also a menu for a Non-rationed Sunday Dinner.

Is it true that you have your own recipe card collection at home?

I have literally thousands of recipe cards I’ve collected over the years. I’ve found them at garage sales, estate sales, in dumpsters, and on ebay. I also have my mother’s and grandmother’s collections. To me, a card with a hand-written recipe on it is worth more than that recipe that’s published in a mass-produced book.

Thank you to Jane for sharing her time for this interview and also for helping to preserve the past!

For more vintage recipes and to view vintage recipe cards, check out these recipes from RecoveredRecipes.com:
Appetizers & Snacks
Cakes
Cookies
Puddings ]]> http://www.eatingoutloud.com/2009/07/interview-jane-e-garrett-author.html/feed 1 http://www.eatingoutloud.com/2008/10/book-review-1000-gluten-free-recipes.html http://www.eatingoutloud.com/2008/10/book-review-1000-gluten-free-recipes.html#comments Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:15:44 +0000 Allen http://www.eatingoutloud.com/?p=1772

Like the slow and building rumble of an approaching storm, celiac disease and gluten allergies are gaining attention and growing to a loud roar. This past week my brother discovered his digestion problems, sporadic headaches, frequent congestion, and thickened blood have…

My reading list for this weekend is perfect for those who love to entertain. You’ll find cookbooks covering cocktails and fondues along with appetizers and party planning ideas. Four of the books featured are less than $20 making them affordable as well!

We haven’t entertained in such a long time and I’m starting to feel a bit rusty. When we have a party, I usually make way too much food and often attempt several new recipes, which can be dangerous. The result can be varied and often includes at least one dish that doesn’t make the cut. I mostly enjoy the pre-planning, picking out recipes and shopping for ingredients.

I’ve received the following recently published books for review and hope to read through them this weekend. Although it wasn’t planned, there appears to be an entertaining theme running through this set of books.

Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven!
Emily Farris resurrects the humble casserole by covering 125 new takes on casseroles with recipes from celebrity chefs, as well as her own and those from family and friends. Raised in Missouri and now in Brooklyn, the recipes have a definite Midwestern edge with modernized touches here an there. You’ll find an entire chapter dedicated to “Macaroni and Cheese”. While I enjoy a great casserole, this book has one drawback, the lack of any photographs (not even on the cover). Bummer, because I’m sure the casseroles looked great!

101 Champagne Cocktails
Kim Haasarud continues her successful “101″ series, this time featuring champagne-based cocktails. From a Kiwi Royale to a Blueberry Bellini, the drinks are beautifully photographed and recipes easy to follow. So many wonderful ideas for delicious cocktails, so little time :-)

Entertaining Simple
Matthew Mead has stolen my heart by showcasing one of my favorite ideas. I’ve longed to use a stainless steel tool chest as a piece of chic kitchen storage. Every time I pass one in a store, I stop and play with the drawers and tell Joe how we must get one in our next kitchen. In this book, Matthew shares entertaining tips and ideas, including a shiny tool chest filled with utensils and dishes. In addition to all of the helpful ideas, Matthew also shares fun and interesting recipes. I will be spending alot of time reading this one :-)

Great Party Fondues
Peggy Fallon moves fondue beyond the classic swiss version and explores a variety of cheeses from Brie to Manchego. Interesting savory fondues and chocolate fondues round out this book. My eyes stopped when I came to the “Gingerbread and White Chocolate” fondue. I haven’t taken my fondue pots out of the cupboard in a very long time – now I’m feeling inspired!

Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making
James Peterson returns to release this third edition to his original cookbook which won the James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year for its first edition in 1991. The book comes in at over 600 pages and is a wonderful reference for classical and contemporary sauce making. Informative and easy to read, this book provides easy to follow recipes and charts. I never knew the world of sauces was so vast!

What cookbooks are you reading and loving right now?

Unlike many dessert cookbooks, Frozen Desserts moves beyond sharing recipes and focuses on the principles and techniques of producing high-quality desserts. Written by Francisco J. Migoya, a former Executive Pastry Chef at French Laundry and Lecturing Instructor at The Culinary Institute of America, the book is authoritative and provides all the information needed by a pastry chef. This book isn’t a casual read but instead an educate-yourself-at-home guide to making delicious frozen desserts.

While the book is targeted to professionals who need to reliably produce frozen desserts in small batches, it moves beyond this aim by providing everyone with information on how to approach each type of frozen dessert along with charts showing recommended ratios of ingredients (i.e. the ratio of fats to solids in an ice-cream base). This instruction allows you understand the differences from one frozen dessert to the next (i.e. how is sherbet different from sorbet?) and illustrates the components necessary to make a winning dessert.

In addition to this guidance, there are over 200 recipes that truly inspire a general reader to move beyond their comfort zone. Personally, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about a recipe for Buttermilk Sherbet and Concord Grape Soup. Arranged in logical chapters, the book is broken down into:

1. A Brief History of Frozen Desserts
2. Ingredients
3. Equipment, Machines, and Tools
4. Dairy-Based Frozen Desserts
5. Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts
6. Aerated Still-Frozen Desserts
7. Finished Items
8. Base Recipes

The book concludes with an Appendices (with a great chart on the average sugar, solids, and acid content of various fruits), Glossary, Bibliography, Internet References, Resources, and Index (both by subject and by recipe).

From the Introduction, Mr. Migoya notes that he focuses the text on the most widely used variety of desserts: ice cream, gelato, sherbet, sorbet, granite, ices, an aerated items such as semifreddo, parfait, bombe, frozen souffle and frozen mousse. For each area covered he explains the definition of each dessert as well as the differences between desserts. Throughout the book, he thoughtfully describes how each dessert is made and how it should be stored. He is objective in his approach and provides information on traditional techniques while contrasting these techniques with modern methods.

The recipes are easy to follow, clearly written and well presented. Stunning photography of the plated desserts accompanies each section. I am intrigued by many of the recipes, including:

• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Sorbet
• Piquillo Pepper Sorbet
• Black and Tan Ice Cream (yes, using beer!)
• Port Ice Cream
• Espresso-Cardamom Ice Cream
• Roasted Black Mission Fig Gelato
• Lemongrass Semifreddo

Coming in at over 400 pages, call this simply ‘a book’ doesn’t do it justice. Frozen Desserts is a reference source, a compendium for both professionals and amateurs interested in expanding their knowledge of deliciously cold treats and desserts.

The pleasant surprise is that this book is affordable as well, currently listed for less than $40US on Amazon.com (retail price $60US). If you have a favorite foodie in your life who enjoys crafting ice-creams or if you yearn to explore sorbets and granites, this book will make a perfect addition to any personal reference collection. Before our weather turns cool, I will explore the buttermilk sherbet and share my results with you!

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Five new books sit in a pile on the edge of my desk, tempting me to read them. I normally don’t have so many books lined up but this week has somehow been ‘the perfect storm’. I purchased an interesting book on food history, then a book I won from a blog giveaway arrived, then I received 3 review copies from publishers. I’m in heaven with so many things to read and slightly embarrassed to admit that the last book I read was sTori Telling (a sinfully good read).

So, here’s what’s on my reading list, a few of them I’ve already cracked open to scan through. The ones which catch my eye will get a full blown review in the coming weeks.

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry
The name of the book lures me in, something sad and intriguing by the title. In this book, journalist Kathleen Flinn writes of leaving her corporate job to undertake training at Le Cordon Bleu. It’s a funny and insightful telling of her experiences with hot-tempered chefs and competitive classmates. I expect this book to be extremely interesting :-) It’s on pre-order now and will be released September 2nd.

Bake Until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook
Being from the Midwest, this book is like my family bible. I know, in some foodie circles the word ‘casserole’ is vulgar and socially unacceptable. However, this book is loaded with interesting ideas and breaks the myth that casseroles are merely a combination of frozen vegetables and Campbell’s Soup. I’ve already tried a recipe for a vegetable-rice casserole, similar to paella (minus meat and seafood). I’ll try and post about it soon.

Food Styling for Photographers
My goal is to become a better photographer. I don’t feel like I’m doing my food justice. The root of my problem is that I don’t spend enough time setting up for shots or styling things nicely. Hopefully, this book will teach me a few tips that can help improve my skills in this area.

The American History Cookbook
I recently discovered this book by Mark Zanger while researching for my other blog, Recovered Recipes. I appreciate the work he has done in writing and thoroughly researching this book. The book is arranged into 50 chronological chapters beginning with First Nations and Early Settlers (1200-1674) to The 1970s (1971-1975). Each chapter explains the nature of food at cooking in the particular period and accompanies it with several recipes indicative of that time. I’ve only just started to read it but look forward to reading the chapter on Health Food in Victorian America.

California Pizza Kitchen Family Cookbook
If you love CPK, then this book might be for you! Written by the founders of the California Pizza Kitchen, this book is targeted at families who like to cook together. The book covers dough making basics, explores specialties from the CPK menu, and even has a section on dessert pizzas.

So, that’s my list … so much to read. What are you reading?

Summer grilling will soon be upon us, so I was excited to receive this cookbook for review. I love a good burger and enjoy interesting ideas on how to mix up the flavors to make unique, gourmet-style burgers.

Title: Burgers: 52 Easy Recipes for Year-round Cooking (Recipe of the Week)
Author: Sally Sampson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 978-0-470-16944-5

Authored by Sally Sampson who has served as editor-in-chief at Balducci.com and was a senior writer at Cooks Illustrated, the book is nicely styled and contains beautiful photos. The recipes are simple yet packed with flavor and cover not only beef burgers but also lamb, pork, turkey, chicken, fish, mushroom and bean burgers. I made the Jerk Burgers last night using ground turkey:

The burgers turned out flavorful and quite satisfying even without a bun. The burgers contained chopped green onion, minced garlic, soy sauce, jalapenos along with a mix of chinese 5-spice, allspice, thyme, nutmeg, and black pepper. I served with steamed broccoli and spicy re-fried beans (i.e. fat free).

I enjoy the variety that the cookbook offers, especially by offering vegetarian options. I plan to also try the black bean burgers which are featured on the book’s cover, as well as the ones utilizing fish.

I’ll admit that the book reminded me instantly of Rachael Ray who is known for taking a traditional dish’s flavor and making it into something altogether different. You will find some degree of this in the book with curry burgers, asian-style burgers, and cubano-style burgers. I enjoy books like this because they help jump-start my mind and get me thinking of what else I can do with burgers.

While the cookbook offers great ideas, there are a couple issues I found distracting and must point out. The book contains little content aside from the recipes, however there is a 1-pager at the opening which describes how to prep your coal-burning grill. Oddly though, this same information is added to nearly every recipe as well, each recipe ending with the steps on how to prep your grill.

Even more disturbing are the cooking instructions, also seemingly tacked on to each recipe. The author states to cook for 8-10 minutes for medium rare and 10-12 minutes for medium. This is expected advice for red meat … but also for turkey and chicken burgers? I assume this is an error and that the author does not actually recommend cooking poultry to medium rare. My stomach turns just thinking about it. Once again, this information is added to each recipe and creates unnecessary repetition.

Aside from the book’s quirks, I do find it already generating ideas for me and I appreciate the wonderful photos it contains. I intend to use it as a reference once we start grilling.

Title: A Baker’s Odyssey (includes DVD)
Author: Greg Patent
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0764572814

Recently nominated for a 2008 James Beard Foundation Book Award, A Baker’s Odyssey: Celebrating Time-Honored Recipes From America’s Rich Immigrant Heritage is the latest work from Greg Patent. In this book, Patent explores and successfully captures immigrant cooking in the United States, learning directly from over 60 home cooks the recipes and techniques passed down through each family. The outcome is a 400 page snapshot thoughtfully preserving more than 130 recipes for future generations.

Patent introduces the book by first explaining his own immigrant past. Born to a Russian father and Iraqi mother, his family lived in Shanghai China before immigrating to the United States. His own immigrant past provided him with the conviction to seek out and document recipes from other immigrant families.

As I flip through the book for the first time, I am immediately struck by two reactions. The first being how unfamiliar the recipes are, which I find terribly exciting and intriguing. So often, the same recipes are repeated and reworked from book to book. Recipes from more than 30 regions are covered, from Australian Anzac cookies to Welsh Griddle Cakes. Each recipe presents me with something new to discover.

Chapters are arranged by eight categories of baked good, including sections for both sweet and savory pastries, as well as ‘fried sweet pastries’. As you know, I’m a fan of the fried foods so I find this to be somewhat magical.

My second reaction is the lack of photos. There are two small groupings in the book which capture photos for some of the baked goods, however the majority of the book is in a sepia tone. Since the recipes will be unfamiliar to most bakers, I would have found it useful to have visual context for more of the recipes.

The challenge Patent faced with this book is in the balance of capturing a recipe for his readers while maintaining the recipe’s authenticity. Not only did he have to scale recipes down in size, he had to interpret how each recipe is created. Since many of the home bakers measured ingredients visually and worked dough by touch, identifying precise measurements and step by step instructions proved critical. Patent maintains the exact ingredients used for each recipe but provides suggestions for possible substitutions. As some recipes require hard to find ingredients like lard, Patent provides information on how to render lard in case it’s not readily available.

Although the recipes are clearly written and easy to follow, there’s no denying some of the recipes are quite involved and will be most appealing to die-hard bakers. I felt as though I was peeking over my great-grandma’s shoulder as she stirred together a batch of pasty dough. For me, I would likely be willing to make 80% of the recipes.

The accompanying DVD provides visual aid for certain baking techniques and step by step instruction for several of the more complex recipes. I found the process of making strudel dough paper thin and the size of a dining table to be interesting.

Overall, I find the book interesting and recommend it for experienced bakers who seek to challenge themselves by exploring less familiar recipes. And, I applaud Patent for pursuing such a noteworthy mission. The book made me ponder my own immigrant past and wonder how much of my family’s baking history is already lost.

To provide my readers with more information, I asked food writer Amy Sherman to share her thoughts on the book, as she recently reviewed it as well.

“While I appreciate the stories behind the recipes, and the amazing research that went into the book, I’m not sure how many of the recipes I would make. Truth be told, I’m not much of a baker. Whenever there are lots of ingredients and tons of steps, I get discouraged. Plus with a household of two baking sometimes feels wasteful. Or maybe I’m just lazy! I think this book is terrific for a more committed baker than I.” — Amy Sherman

You can read her interview with Greg Patent on GlamDish, and you can read more of Amy’s writings at Cooking With Amy, GlamDish, KQED, SF Station, and Epicurious.

The ‘Baker’s Odyssey’ Giveaway!

And, I’ve saved the very best until the end. I know many of you are avid bakers so I figured it might be fun to give away a copy of this book!

For more details on how to enter the drawing, please visit the Baker’s Odyssey Giveaway! The contest is open from April 2-8, 2008.

While cleaning my office today, I rediscovered a small yet wonderful cookbook by Ellen Leong Blonder, Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch. Beautifully illustrated, the book is tailored to the everyday person, utilizing commonly found ingredients with detailed explanations on cooking techniques.

I’ve been going out for dim sum over the past few years at least 1 or 2 times per month. The practice of dim sum started as snacks to accompany afternoon tea but over time became common as breakfast or lunch, with some restaurants serving it well into the evening. The variety of dim sum dishes varies by restaurant, but there are a core set of dishes found almost everywhere and it’s these dishes that the author focuses on for her book.

Contents include:

Introduction
Role of Tea
Steamed Dumplings
Boiled and Pan-Fried Dumplings
Breads and Baked Dishes
Rice and Rice Flour Dishes
Greens and Pan-Fried Dishes
Deep-Fried and Bean Curd Sheet Dishes
Meats
Sweets
Sauces and Condiments
Planning a Menu
Equipment and Supplies
Resources
Bibliography
Index

You’ll find savory Pork Siu Mai, Chive Dumplings, Char Siu Bao, Taro Dumplings, and Bean Curd Rolls. For the lover’s of sweet treats, you’ll not be disappointed with Red Bean-Filled Pancakes, Egg Custard Tarts, or Mango Pudding. There are many recipes, and each is accompanied with thorough explanation and guidance.

This cookbook is the first one I’ve found that made me realize I could confidently recreate a dim sum meal at home. The cookbook makes a great addition to my collection and it deserves a better home than on my cluttered desk!

Note: Ellen Leong Blonder also coauthored the award-winning book, Every Grain of Rice: A Taste of Our Chinese Childhood in America

You might also like these posts:
Finding a cast iron wok
Exploring Chinese hot-pot

Book review of Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije’s, The Ethnic Paris Cookbook.

When I think about food from Paris, I tend to imagine typically and widely known French food. The Ethnic Paris Cookbook shatters my perception of French food and is the first book to focus on the many wonderful ethnic foods and cultures also representative of Paris, from Morocco to Laos.

The varied and interesting flavors seeping into the French cooking are attributed to emigrants from former French colonies and are changing the world’s perception of how we define ‘French food’. Authors, Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije, both transplants to Paris met each other while dropping their kids off at school. They both shared a love of ethnic food in Paris and felt a tribute to these foods was long overdue.

With more than 100 recipes, the book is arranged by regions and covers appetizers, main courses, and desserts. The 250 page cookbook offers easy and interesting recipes, each recipe selected and adapted from internationally renowned chefs and local food lovers.

Chapters

Couscous in the Cafeteria
Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia

Bo Bun Business
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and China

Waiting for Wagashi
Japan

Africa Sur Seine
Cameroon, Senegal, The West Indies, and the Caribbean

The Best Mezze West of Beirut
Lebanon and Syria

Glossary
With source suggestions and substitute recommendations

And although the book does not contain photos, it is colorfully illustrated by Dina Diwan, a Lebanese artist now based in Paris. I hesitated slightly when opening the book, as I enjoy looking at photos (sometimes more than the recipes). However, once I started reading the recipes and background information on the various ethnic cuisines, the illustrations suddenly seemed to fit. The drawings complemented the subject matter and brought each page to life.

In addition, throughout the book you are provided with information about specific restaurants specializing in a given dish or ethnic cuisine. Addresses are provided, so the cookbook serves as an ad hoc travel guide to help you find great meals throughout Paris so you too can have a culinary journey.

I decided to try out a Lebanese recipe for Lentils with Bulgar (M’jaddara) from page 218. And although the recipe turned out well, I was disappointed that one of the seemingly key ingredients (1/2 bunch chopped mint) was not mentioned in the directions. I realized this as I neared the end of my cooking and wondered at which point the mint was supposed to be used. I stirred it in during the last step where the olive oil is added.

Ingredients:

1 cup coarse bulgar
1 1/3 cup brown lentils
1/2 teaspoon 7-spice powder
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
1/2 bunch mint leaves, chopped

Suggested Garnishes:

yogurt
sliced cucumber
crushed garlic
chopped scallions

Rinse bulgar and then soak in warm water for 10 minutes, drain.

Rinse lentils and combine in a medium saucepan with 4 cups cold salted water and the 7-spice powder. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Skim off any foam that rise to the surface. Stir in the bulgar and cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until the bulgar and lentils are tender.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until soft and beginning to color. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

When the lentil and bulgar mixture is cooked, drain any excess liquid, put into a large bowl, and toss with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with fried onions and serve with garnishes on the side.