Mmmm mmm! Something smells good in the oven. Gone are the times when every day something made from scratch wafted from the kitchen. Ma was is the kitchen baking, while her handful of lil' ones played out back or did chores. It was a simpler time. But a harder time just
the same. Dry goods were bought from that every so often needed trip into town. Eggs were fetched from underneath that pecking chicken in the coop, or brought over from Nellie from the next spread over when she dropped in for a visit. Stoves had to be started by fire from wood Pa chopped, and sometimes homemakers burned their skirts while cooking. Though the more
well-to-do homes had servants to do the cooking, most young girls were taught from early on
the importance of learning to cook and bake.
Whoa there! You look at the recipe but can't make heads or tails of it. What the heck is a dollop?
A flat? Don't get your feathers in bunch, here's a translator:
Old-timey measurements:
1 flat...................1/2 pound
A lump................2 tablespoons
Coffee cup...........1 cup
Dollop.................a small quantity, dash, splash
Pinch..................1/8 of a teaspoon
Pint....................2 cups
Size of an egg.....1/4 cup
Tin cup................1 cup
Figuring out that oven temperature:
Hot....................equals roughly 400 degrees
Moderate........... equals roughly 350 degrees
_______________________
Corn Bread Stuffing
1 onion, minced
8 cloves garlic, minced
A pint of diced celery
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon rosemary
3/4 cup minced parsley
1/2 pound water chestnuts, sliced
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
11 cups day-old corn bread, crumbled
1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken broth or turkey stock
Sauté the minced onion, garlic and diced celery in 1/4 cup of the butter for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and herbs and sauté for 5 more minutes.
Transfer to a large bowl and add the parsley, water chestnuts, wild rice, pine nuts, salt, pepper and corn bread. Add the broth, tossing with your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients. The mixture should be only very slightly moist.
Place stuffing in a 9-by-13-inch greased pan. Cover (with aluminum foil), and bake at 325 degrees
for 45 to 60 minutes. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons melted butter.
___________________________________________
Hard Tack
This recipe has been updated for modern OVEN -- otherwise, ingredients remain the same.
5 Cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 Tbs salt
1 to 1 2/3 Cups water
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Combine ingredients. Add water until you can form a firm ball. Keep dough from sticking to your hands by adding more flour. If it gets too dry, add more water. Roll out on a well-floured surface. If dough sticks to rolling pin, sprinkle with more flour. Roll dough to approx. half-inch thickness. Cut dough into bite size squares and poke with holes. Place on baking sheet or tin and place in oven. Bake until lightly browned, which should be roughly 20 minutes. Remove. Let cool before eating.
___________________________________________
Breakfast Puffs
These are made very quickly and easily. Two cups of flour, add one saltspoonful of salt, two cups of milk, two eggs, the white and beaten; mix in the order given, and bake in a hot oven about thirty minutes.
___________________________________________
Johnnycake
3/4 cup milk
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
A lump of lard, melted
1 tsp. salt
2 cups yellow cornmeal
3 tsps. sugar
Combine milk, water, beaten eggs, melted lard and salt in a mixing bowl. Add cornmeal and sugar and mix well. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto hot greased skillet. Fry on each side until browned, about 2 minutes. Serve with syrup and butter.
____________________________________________________________
Out of a labor of love of my favorite era -- the Wild West. No pages within my
Web site may be reproduced in form or by any means without prior permission from me
Lady Belle Outlaw Productions. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2000 - 2009
