I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from Kate Smith’s Favorite Recipes.

Kate’s “Hermits” are in the Tea Cakes section of the book, and appear to be something of a cross between drop cookies and scones. Mace, one of the spices called for in this recipe, is actually the outer web-type covering of the nutmeg, dried and usually ground for use in cooking and baking. It’s similar enough in flavor to nutmeg to complement it well, but it does impart a unique oomph that is all its own.

Hermits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sifted Swans Down Cake Flour
• 2 teaspoons Calumet Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon mace
• ½ cup butter or other shortening
• ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 2 cups raisins
• ½ cup broken nut meets

Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder, salt, and spices, and sift together three times. Cream butter thoroughly, add sugars gradually, creaming until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat thoroughly; then raisins and nuts and mix well. Add flour gradually, mixing well. Drop from teaspoon on greased baking sheet and bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 15 minutes. Makes 4½ dozen hermits.

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Just check out how fatty those cuts are. And oh lord, the lard!

I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from Kate Smith’s Favorite Recipes.

Kate Smith, voluptuous songstress and radio star, appears to have had quite a few opinions on this recipe, or at least her publisher did. At the bottom of the page is Ms. Smith’s disembodied head with a note about urgent requests (see below). That may be my favorite part of the book.

I like this recipe because it’s not a normal (chocolate/vanilla) marble cake; instead, the darker batter is flavored with molasses and spice. Try adding ground walnuts to the “plain” batter for a little extra kick.

Marble Spice Picnic Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sifted Swans Down Cake Flour
• 2 teaspoons Calumet Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter or other shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons molasses

Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift together three times. Cream butter thoroughly, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add flour, alternately with milk, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Divide batter into two parts. To one part, add spices and molasses. Put by tablespoons into greased loaf pan, 8x4x3 inches, alternating light and dark mixtures. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until done. Spread Clever Judy Frosting (page 40) on top and sides of cake.

Or bake in greased pan, 8x8x2 inches, in moderate oven (350° F.) 50 minutes. Spread Seven Minute Frosting (page 40) on top and sides of cake. Decorate top of cake with chopped pecan meats and raisin clusters.

I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from the Sergeantsville Methodist Episcopal Church 1922 Cook Book.

I’m not sure what’s “puffed” about this – it sounds like standard fried chicken to me!

Puffed Chicken

Cut chicken in pieces and cook the same as for when stewing.  When tender take the chicken from the kettle and place on a plate, using the liquor for a cream sauce or gravy.  Have ready another pot with hot lard.  Make a thin batter, using 1 egg, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of flour, 1 level teaspoonful of Royal Baking powder.  Dip each piece of chicken separately in the batter, then in the hot fat, and brown as you would crullers.  Serve on a meat platter, and the sauce or gravy in a bowl.  Sauce — mix 2 tablspoons of butter, 1 of flour and 2 of milk.  Add to the liquor and cook until thick, or make just the plain gravy as when you serve a fricasseed chicken.

I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from the Sergeantsville Methodist Episcopal Church 1922 Cook Book.

Rhubarb and Pineapple Marmalade

7 lbs. rhubarb cut small, 7 lbs. sugar, 1 large pineapple or two small ones, cut fine, juice of one lemon. Let stand over night, next day cook until thick.

I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from the Sergeantsville Methodist Episcopal Church 1922 Cook Book.

Oysters on Toast

1 pint oysters.  Chop fine and season with salt, cayenne pepper and nutmeg.  Melt 1 tblspoon butter in saucepan, stir in minced oysters.  In separate dish, beat the yolks of two eggs with 1/2 cup cream, stir in with oysters.  As soon as eggs set serve on slices of toast garnished with parsley.

I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from the Sergeantsville Methodist Episcopal Church 1922 Cook Book.

Corn Chowder

Cut corn from 6 or 8 ears.  Cook with 1 qt. of water, put in cobs and boil for a few min.  Add 1 cup of lima beans and 1 onion when the vegetables are done add 1 cup of milk and thicken with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour.  Season to taste.

I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from the Sergeantsville Methodist Episcopal Church 1922 Cook Book.

Butter Scotch Pie

One egg, one cupful brown sugar, one cupful milk, three tablespoonsful flour, two tablespoons butter, one baked crust, one teaspoonful vanilla, three tablespoonsful water, 1/4 teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful powdered sugar. Put yolk of egg into saucepan, add sugar, flour, milk, water, butter, salt and vanilla. Stir over fire until it thickens. Pour into baked crust. Beat up egg white, then beat sugar into it. Spread on top, brown in oven.

I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from the Sergeantsville Methodist Episcopal Church 1922 Cook Book. This flavorful, crisp, and refreshing drink may be the perfect summer afternoon beverage.

Gingerade

Juice of three lemons, one quart water, one bottle of ginger ale, sugar to taste. Serve ice cold. A delicious drink to serve with wafers in warm weather.

I enjoy collecting old cookbooks, and pick them up at yard sales and flea markets whenever I can. Each Saturday, I post excerpts from my collection. Today’s post comes from the Sergeantsville Methodist Episcopal Church 1922 Cook Book.  This is a fairly standard chicken salad recipe, but I find the garnish instructions puzzling — what exactly is a three-cornered slice of lemon?

CHICKEN SALAD

Use two thirds of celery to one third of chicken.  Cut up the celery and cold chicken in the food chopper, using the coarse cutter.  If the chicken is dry, add a little liquid in which it was cooked.  When ready to serve, mix the celery and chicken together and pour over it a mayonnaise dressing, mixing it thoroughly with the salad.  Serve on lettuce leaves.  This salad will be greatly improved if a few chopped olives and a dessertspoonful of capers are added.  Then garnish with a slice of cold hard-boiled egg, a whole olive, a split radish, and a long three-cornered slice of lemon, to be squeezed over the salad by the guest, if desired.  Veal may be used instead of chicken.