About Old Timey Recipes 2012

This subject was suggested by a friend who shared some recipes.  By the way, a lady (friend?) called this past week and said I was the oldest person she knew and wanted me to tell her how to make red-eye gravy.  Duh!!

Because of space, I’ll mostly talk about ingredients for the old-timey recipes.  One recipe came from a lady in Birmingham in 1936 for Lemon Ice Box Pie, which calls for two boxes of five -cent vanilla wafers.  In 1923 a Gadsden lady shared a recipe for meat loaf which calls for sage and onions to taste and one-half bottle of catsup.

For many years Mrs. S. R. Dull wrote a column for the Atlanta Constitution, publishing her first cookbook in 1928 and some recipes are hers.  The recipe for liver pudding begins with “Take one hog liver, lights and one jowl.”  A recipe for Scrapple says to boil one hog liver ‘til tender.  Then there’s a recipe for smothered rabbit, fried rabbit and kidney stew.  Another recipe tells how to cook squab – whatever that is.  To prepare a possum for cooking, the instructions say to put one-half cup of lime in one gallon of boiling water – scald the animal quickly, pulling the hair off while hot.  Scrape well – remove feet, tail and entrails.  Cut off ears, remove eyes and head if desired.  Pour hot water over it and clean thoroughly.

If you’re still with me,  I’m sure you must be in the mood for cake.  In 1934 Mrs. Pearl Thornbury of Ft. Payne signed a recipe for Stacked Cake stating it was her daddy’s favorite and he always wanted this cake for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Stacked Cake

½ cup shortening, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup old-fashion syrup. 2 eggs well beaten, ½ cup buttermilk, 3 ½ cups plain flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp soda, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp ginger, ½ tsp allspice, 1 tsp vanilla, ½ tsp coconut flavoring.  Cream shortening, sugar and syrup, add eggs and buttermilk.  Sift dry ingredients at least 3 times, add to mixture, add flavoring.  Knead well. Roll dough out very thin, I use small plate to cut out to get all same size – five or more or just as long as dough lasts.  I have made nine.  Place on pan bake from 10 to 12 minutes. Spread with apple filling.

FILLING – 1 lb home-dried apples, ½ cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp allspice.  Let apples soak overnight.  Cook slowly in same water until tender and dry. Mash, add other ingredients and spread between layers and on top.  This cake is better if made 2 – 4 days before eating; gets better with age.

This was old timey country living.