Women's Focus - January 2008 - (Page 56)

T aste History Collecting antique cookbooks isn’t a profitable hobby. Many may look impressive, but have oilcloth bindings and poor quality paper; they were cheaply made and inexpensive to buy when they were new. But, if you’re like me, you collect these vintage volumes for the fun of taking a trip through culinary history. If that’s the case, I’ve got a cookbook for you! In 1887, when Grover Cleveland was President, the White House Cookbook by Lou Henry Hoover was published as an encyclopedia of information for the home. The book enjoyed a huge following and was reprinted and updated every few years until the 1930s – complete with a photo of the current First Lady. My edition, 1924, includes recipes for Frizzled Beef, Rice Waffles, French Cream Candy and A Royal Dessert (made with stale cake). There are also instructions for making your own butter, creating a cholera mixture and preventative, a cure for pimples and directions for planning the menu for a state dinner. Not exactly stuff you would find in your average gourmet cookbook or on the Food Network. Here are a few gems from Lou Henry Hoover that I’ve actually tried for my family. The punctuation and format may seem odd, but these are taken directly from the cookbook, with no changes to their content. F RI ED CUCUMBERS Pare them and cut lengthwise in very thick slices; wipe them dry with a cloth; sprinkle with salt and pepper; dredge with flour, and fry in lard and butter, a tablespoonful of each mixed. Brown both sides and serve warm. R OA S T B E E F P IE (I substituted a tablespoonful of olive oil for the lard.) Cut roast beef, or beefsteak left from a previous meal, into thin slices, lay some of the slices in a deep dish which you have lined on the sides with rich biscuit dough, rolled a quarter of an inch thick; now sprinkle over this layer a little pepper and salt; put in a small bit of butter, a few slices of cold potatoes, a little bit of cold gravy, if you have any left from the roast. Make another layer of beef, another layer of seasoning, and so on until the dish is filled; cover the whole with dough leaving a slit in the center and bake half an hour. (My recommendations: For the “rich biscuit dough” I used crescent rolls from the refrigerator and I substituted cream of mushroom soup for gravy. I also used an egg wash to give the top a crispy brown surface and finished by baking it at 350. ) ˚ STUF F ED EGG- PLAN T Cut the egg-plant in two; scrape out all the inside and put it in a saucepan with two tablespoons minced ham; cover with water and boil until soft; drain off the water. Add two tablespoonfuls of grated crumbs, a tablespoonful of butter, half a minced onion, salt and pepper. Stuff each half of the hull with the mixture; add a small lump of butter to each and bake fifteen minutes. Minced veal or chicken in the place of ham is equally as good and many prefer it. (When I made this, I realized that modern eggplants must be larger than those grown nearly a century ago. I doubled the ham, crumbs and other ingredients to better fill the hull, then baked the pieces at 400. ) ˚ i n d u l g e y o u r s e l f • Wo m e n s F o c u s . c o m • J A N U A RY 2 0 0 8 ~Lisa HensHaLL 56 http://WomensFocus.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Women's Focus - January 2008

Womens Focus - January 2008 Contents BEAUTY & FASHION Retro Do’s Are Big News Vintage Vogue Wichita’s Next Top Model Contest FACTS & FUN The Housewife is Back FLAVOR A Taste of History Cocktail Anyone? FAMILY & FRIENDS Forget-Me-Not Gal Shakila Saiffulah In Her Shoes—Wink Hartman Reba McEntire Social Circle HEALTH Abs From the Past Ask Dick & Jane Home Remedies Team in Training HOME & GARDEN From Warm Fires to Pool Parties Furniture Frolic Retro Houseplants There's More to Color Than Meets the Eye TRAVEL & LEISURE City Culture Crafts: Faux Pearl Makeover Day Tripping in Newton Knightley Reading

Women's Focus - January 2008

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