1940's The war years
Our food supply lines are endangered. Rationing of food becomes the norm. Women are encouraged to grow "Victory Gardens" in their back yard to supplement their families meals. Sugary snack foods are scarce because the factories are taken over to produce weapons for the war. America fears starvation, but actually becomes healthier from the high vegetable and low junk food life.
Scotch Toffee
1/3 cup fortified margarine or butter, melted
2 cups rolled oats (quick or regular, uncooked)
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup dark corn syrup or honey
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolates chips or pieces
¼ cup finely chopped nuts
Pour melted margarine over rolled oats. Mix thoroughly. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, vanilla; mix until combined., Pack firmly into a well greased 8” square or 7” X 11” pan and bake in a hot oven (450 degrees fah.) for 12 minutes, or until a rich brown color. (Mixture will be bubbling) Place on a wire rack, let stand until completely cold. Loosen edges, turn pan over, strike firmly against table top until candy is loosened. Melt chocolate, spread on top of candy. Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts. Chill in refrigerator until chocolate hardens. Cut in small squares or bars. Make 36 pieces.
American Cookery April 1945
Deep-Dish Meat Pie
3 cups diced cooked beef, lamb or veal
Salt, pepper
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp lard
2 large onions
2 cups cooked dice potatoes
1 cup cooked peas
1 cup cooked diced carrots
Hot water
Season meat. Dredge in flour. Brown in hot fat. Add minced onion and brown. Add vegetables and pour into deep, wide casserole. Add hot water or thin gravy to cover. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees Fah.) for 15 minutes while making pastry. Top with pastry strips and bake in 425 degree fah. Oven for 2- minutes or until browned. Serves 8.
American Cookery April 1945
Tossed Spaghetti With Cheese And Herb Sauce
1 lb. Spaghetti
1 onion
4 or 5 whole cloves
4 tbsp fortified margarine
¼ tsp thyme
½ tsp garlic salt (optional)
1 bunch watercress
¼ cup grated cheese
Cover spaghetti with boiling salted water. Add the onion, studded with whole cloves. Cook until tender – 8 or 10 to 15 minutes, depending upon spaghetti and degree of softness desired. Drain well. Melt margarine; add thyme and garlic salt if desired. Pour over top of cooked spaghetti. Add watercress or parsley and the cheese. Toss together until spaghetti is well dressed. Serve at once. Serves 4 generously.
American Cookery November 1941
Feather Cookies
1/3 cup fortified margarine or Shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
1 1/ cup sifted flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. powdered mace
¼ tsp salt
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Caraway seeds
Cream together margarine and sugar. Add egg yolk and beat until creamy. Add dry ingredients, sifted together, and milk, as needed to make a stiff dough easy to handle. Knead well. Chill. Roll to 1/8 “ thickness and cut into rounds or shapes. Add 1 tbsp cold water to egg white and brush on top of cakes. Sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake on greased cookie sheet in moderate oven (350 degrees F.) 12 to 15 minutes. Yield: 2 dozen cookies
American Cookery November 1941
Sea-Food Pie
2 cups shrimps, cooked or canned
2 cups flaked crabmeat, cooked or canned
1 cup oysters or 1 cup cooked white fish
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup pimento, chopped
¼ cup parsley, chopped
Fancy top crust, baked
Prepare the shrimp and cut in pieces; flake the crab and the white fish, if it is used in place of the oysters; or heat the oysters until the edges curl. Melt butter, stir in the flour gradually. Add milk, stirring constantly until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and add the pimento and Parsley. Add the sea foods to the sauce and heat thoroughly over hot water. When ready to serve, place in a warm serving dish and top with a fancy crust previously baked.
For the fancy top crust, use a rich pastry, cut to the desired size; decorate with a star cutter. Bake; reheat and use. This type of pie may all be prepared in advance. Additional filling and top crusts may also be in readiness!
American Cookery November 1941
Shrimps with Coconut Milk (From Brazil)
3 onions
Cooking oil
4 tomatoes
1 green pepper
Salt and pepper
1 coconut
3 eggs, separated
1 pound large shrimps
Chop the onions and cook in a small amount of oil, add the tomatoes, green pepper, salt and pepper to taste, and allow to simmer until the mixture can be pressed through a sieve. Grate the meat from the coconut and squeeze through cheesecloth to extract the milk. Placer the shrimps in a saucepan with the strained tomato mixture and coconut milk; boil for three minutes. Stir in the egg yolks and cook until the sauce thickens. Beat the egg whites until stiff, add to the sauce after it has been slightly cooled. Place the mixture in a baking dish and cook in a slow oven until firm.
American Cookery November 1941
Honeyed Apples And Cranberries
6 medium-sized apples
½ lb. (2 ½ cups) cranberries
1 ¾ cups water
½ cup honey
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 cinnamon sticks
Pare and core, the apples and place in a flat-bottomed pan. Add the cranberries and water and simmer five minutes, turning the apples once during the cooking period. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer fifteen to twenty minutes longer, or until the apples are tender. (Turn the apples carefully during cooking so they are evenly red.) Remove the apples to the dish in which they are to be served, skim the cranberry sauce, and pour around the apples. Cool. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Approximate yield: eight to ten portions.
American Cookery November 1941
Honey Apple Crisp
4 cups sliced apples
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup honey
½ cup flour
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup butter
¼ cup walnuts (if desired)
Spread the sliced apples in a shallow baking dish, sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice and pour the honey over all. In a bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and salt, and work in the butter as for biscuits, making a crumbly mixture. Spread these crumbs evenly over the apples and bake in a moderate oven (375 degrees Fah.) for thirty to forty minutes, or until the apples are tender and the crust crisply browned. Serve warm, with plain cream, or whipped cream topped with a dash of powdered cinnamon.
American Cookery November 1941
Upside-Down Ham Loaf
4 cups corn flakes
1 lb. ground cooked ham
1 pound ground lean pork
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ tsp. salt
3 tablespoons chopped green pepper
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. whole cloves
Parsley
Sliced bananas
Crush the corn flakes into coarse crumbs. Combine the meats with the eggs, milk, salt and green pepper; mix well. Add the crushed corn flakes and mix well. Add the crushed corn flakes and mix thoroughly. Pat the brown sugar in bottom of a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with cloves. Add meat mixture. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees Fah.) about one hour. Invert on a warm platter and serve garnished with parsley and sliced bananas.
American Cookery January 1942
Opera Spaghetti
½ pound Italian spaghetti
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion
½ green pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic
1 can tomato puree
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 ½ cups canned tomatoes
Sauté chopped onion and green pepper in butter until delicately brown; add one clove of garlic and tomatoes. Simmer for about forty-five minutes. Add tomato puree, the ground beef shaped in eight small balls, salt and pepper. Cook fifteen minutes longer. Boil spaghetti in salted boiling water, with another clove of garlic and the olive oil. In about fifteen minutes, when tender, drain, arrange on hot platter and pour sauce on top. Serve with Parmesan cheese, in a separate dish. If you tie each clove of garlic in a little cheesecloth, you can remove after cooking.
American Cookery January 1942
Normandy Salad
Combining Fresh and Canned Fruits
2 grapefruits
4 oranges
6 slices canned pineapple
1 lv. White grapes
Chicory
Remove the sections from the grape-fruits and oranges; drain pineapple; cut in pieces. Cut the grapes in halves and remove seeds. Blend the fruits and chill thoroughly. When ready to serve, arrange the chicory in a salad bowl, add dressing to the fruit and pile lightly on the bed of chicory.
Normandy Dressing:
1 cream cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp currant jelly
¾ cup cream, whipped
Blend the cheese with the lemon juice and jelly; fold in the whipped cream. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator before using.
American Cookery January 1942
Salmon Croquettes
2/3 cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp minced parsley
1 tbsp grated onion
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ cups cooked rice
2 cups drained flaked salmon
Fine dry bread crumbs
Combine mayonnaise and seasonings in a bowl. Add the rice and salmon. Mix with a fork; let stand five minutes. Shape into croquettes and roll in bread crumbs. Place one-half inch apart on heavy brown paper. Bake in hot oven 450 degrees Fah. Fifteen to twenty minutes, or until browned. Approximate yield: ten to twelve croquettes.
American Cookery February 1942
Nova Scotia Finnan Haddie
1 ½ pounds smoked split haddie
1 cup thin cream
1 tbsp butter
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Pour boiling water over the fish. Let stand one minute. Drain off the water. Cool sufficiently to handle, then remove skin and easily removed bones. Place fish in a shallow baking dish, pour cream over it, and season with pepper and butter. Bake at 350 degrees Fah. For thirty minutes.
American Cookery February 1942
Salmon Loaf
1 lb. salmon (we use Red Alaska)
½ cup dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
3 eggs beaten
Remove skin and bones from salmon, and rub fine with potato masher. Add bread crumbs, lemon juice and salt. Combine the milk, and cream with the fish. Lastly add the eggs, well beaten. Put into a buttered loaf pan, and bake in a pan of water, in a slow oven, 324 degrees Fah. For one hour. Serve with Hollandaise Sauce. (recipe below)
Hollandaise Sauce
½ cup butter
2 or 3 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
A few grains cayenne
½ cup boiling water
Rub the butter to a cream, add the yolks of the eggs one at a time. Beat well, add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the boiling water, and stir rapidly. Cook in double boiler until the sauce thickens.
American Cookery February 1942
Sour Cream Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp butter
1 cup sour cream (or more)
1 tsp baking soda
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; cut in the butter. Mix to a soft dough with the sour cream in which has been dissolved the soda. Toss on a lightly floured board. Knead and pat to one-half inch
thickness. Cut with floured cutter and place the biscuits on a well-buttered baking sheet. If desired, dot the tops with butter. Bake twelve to fifteen minutes at 400 degrees Fah.
American Cookery February 1942
French Veal Stew
1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless veal shoulder
4 or 5 small onions
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup hot water (or bouillon)
1cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tomato puree
Salt, pepper, parsley
1 pint mushrooms
Cut veal in pieces, not too small. Brown in hot oil with onions. Sprinkle flour and mix well. Add a cup of hot water (or bouillon), the wine, puree of tomato, salt, pepper, bouquet of parsley. Cook slowly a good hour, adding the mushrooms for the last half hour.
American Cookery February 1942
Apple Pone
2 cups corn meal
1 tsp. soda
3 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
2 cups sour milk
2 cups chopped apples
Sift together the corn meal, meal, soda, sugar and baking powder. Add the beaten egg to the dry ingredients and stir in the sour milk. Combine the apples with the corn meal mixture. Pour into a well-greased pan. Bake at 400 degrees Fah. Twenty to thirty minutes. Serve hot with butter, sirup or honey.
American Cookery February 1942
Dutch Cheese
4 quarts whole milk
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
½ cup thin cream
Set milk in a warm place for twenty-four hours until it sours, thickens, and forms bonnyclabber. Pour bonnyclabber into a cheesecloth bag. Hang bag from hook free from wall where the whey can drop into pan beneath. Drain for two or three hours or until dripping ceases. Pour cheese out of bag into a large bowl. Mix in the dry seasonings, the cream, and the melted butter. Stir well. Serve
American Cookery American Cookery February 1942
Coconut Pumpkin Pie
2 cups cooked pumpkin
1 common cracker
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. mace
1 cup brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups rich milk
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
2 cups rich milk
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
Press the pumpkin through a sieve and add the cracker rolled to fine crumbs. Stir in the ginger, cinnamon, mace, sugar and salt. Add the eggs, rich milk and coconut. Place the mixture in a nine-inch pip plate lined with pastry and begin baking at a high temperature with the plate on the bottom of the oven. When the pastry is browned, remove the pie to a shelf in the center of the oven. Continue baking at reduced heat until none of the mixture will cling to the point of a knife inserted in it. Cool and serve. Bake at 425 degees Fah for 15 minutes; then 325 degrees Fah. For 25 minutes (approximately)
American Cookery November 1941
Fruited Sweet Potato Scallop
3 or 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons flour
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1/16 tsp. white pepper
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. grated orange rind
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup crushed pineapple (with juice)
¼ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons butter
Select sweet potatoes suited to baking. Sift the flour, cinnamon, pepper, salt and brown sugar, and mix in the grated orange rind. Pare the potatoes and slice evenly on a board. Arrange one layer of sliced potatoes in the bottom of a greased one-and-one-half-quart casserole, sprinkle with the above mixture and repeat this process, with one layer of crushed pineapple in the middle and another at the top. Put a slice of orange on top, and sprinkle the top layer of sweet potatoes with the orange juice and an extra dash of cinnamon. Dot with the butter. Cover and bake until done. 375 degrees fah. For 45 minutes then 275 degrees Fah. For about 15 minutes.
American Cookery November 1941
Florida Bread
2 tbsp shortening
4 tbsp sugar
1 egg
2 cups cake flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup Florida orange juice
1 tsp grated orange rind
1 cup chopped nut meats
Put the shortening, sugar and egg in a bowl and beat until blended. Add the flour sifted with the baking powder and salt. Add the orange juice and grated rind. Beat until smooth and add the nut meats. Turn into a greased bread pan and bake in a slow oven as indicated. This is a way to eat your orange juice in a tangy orange bread the way Floridians do. Fresh orange juice is the liquid for this golden loaf (keeps it fresh and moist) so squeeze your way to success with this recipe! Bake at 325 Degrees Fah. For 1 hour
American Cookery November 1941
Roast Pork With Orange Sauce
4 pounds pork loin
Dripping fat from pork
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper
3 cups orange juice
Parsley
Orange slices
Prepare the pork and roast as usual. When it is three-quarters done, drain the fat from the roasting pan, add the flour, salt and pepper, and cook until lightly browned. Add the orange juice, stirring well to avoid lumps. Cook five minutes and return to the roasting pan. Baste the roast with the sauce until it is done. For serving, pour the sauce around the pork or into the serving dish. Garnish with parsley and orange slices.
American Cookery November 1941
Bran Tea Biscuits
1 ½ cups, sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tbsp shortening
½ cup bran
¾ cup buttermilk (about)
Sift the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Cut in the shortening. Combine the bran and buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture, mixing until a soft dough is formed. Knead lightly on a floured board twenty seconds. Roll to one-half inch thickness. Cut with a floured biscuit cutter, place on a buttered baking sheet and bake 12 minutes at 450 degrees Fah.
American Cookery November 1941
Magic Cranberry Pie
1 1/3 cups (15 oz. can) sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup cranberry pulp, drained
2 eggs, separated
Few grains, salt
Baked pie shell
Blend together the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, cranberry pulp and egg yolks. Pour into a baked pie shell (nine inch). Cover with a meringue made by beating the egg whites until stiff and adding the sugar. Bake in a moderate oven until brown. Or omit the meringue and decorate the top of the pie with a big turkey cut out of pastry and pre-baked to a delicate brown. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Chill the pie before serving.
Modern Cookery November 1941
Ripe Olive Canape Spread
2 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped quick melting cheese
¾ cup chopped ripe olives
1 tbsp chili powder
Garlic salt to taste
1/3 cup cream
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the cheese and heat slowly until melted, stirring continuously. Add the olives drained of all the liquid, the chili powder and the garlic salt; cook and stir until well blended. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. If a thicker spread is desired, return to the heat and cook and stir to the required consistency., Spread on any desired canape or hors d’oeuvre base. Makes approximately one and one-fourth cups of spread.
American Cookery November 1941
Arabian Jam
½ cup sliced raisins
1/3 cup sliced dates
½ pound sliced or chopped figs
Water for cooking
½ cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 three-ounce package powdered fruit pectin
Cover the fruits with water and cook until tender, drain and measure the liquid. There should be one cup of liquid; discard a portion or add water as required. Add the lemon juice, sugar and salt, stir and bring to the boiling point; add the powdered pectin. Stir and boil hard until the sugar is completely dissolved and the juice has thickened slightly, about one minute. Remove from the heat and, when boiling ceases, skim well. Stir frequently for ten minutes, or until the fruit is evenly distributed. Pour into sterilized (drained) jelly glasses. Use canning process recommended by a professional source.