Day 372 Dandelion Wine

Today is Victoria Day, a Canadian holiday that marks the beginning of the summer season for many of us. A day of relaxation, gardening, fireworks, and puttering around trying things you might not on a normal day. This morning a friend posted on Facebook wondering if anyone had a recipe for dandelion wine since she had loads of them on her lawn. Someone posted a link to a recipe and then I remembered the 1906 Berlin Cook Book. I was sure there was a recipe for Dandelion Wine in the Beverage section. I pulled out the cook book and there were two recipes. I decided to make the one contributed by A Friend since it was my friend who reminded me to try it!

Dandelion ready for picking.

Many of us have a love/hate relationship with these bright weeds. They are lots of fun in childhood when we can use them to make chains or pop off their heads or see if our friend likes butter. As adults we know the leaves can be eaten and are supposed to be good for us but really we secretly know they are weeds. When the flowers bloom they can make us smile briefly since they are such a bright spot in the early spring. But soon we are mowing down this cheerful yellow flower. My lawn needed mowing but first I picked all the dandelion flowers I could find in my tiny yard.

Boiling the dandelion flowers.

I ended up with 1 quart of dandelions so I needed to cut the recipe by a fourth. Fortunately this is an easy recipe to convert. Instead of four quarts of dandelions I had 1 quart (4 cups) to rinse. I boiled two quarts (8 cups) of water in a large pot and then added the washed dandelion flowers. I covered the pot and left it to boil for 30 minutes.  I poured the greenish-yellow liquid through a strainer and discarded the sad-looking dandelion flowers.

Adding lemons to the dandelion liquid.

Now I had to figure out the rest  of the recipe. I poured the liquid back into the pot to keep warm. I sliced one and a half lemons and added them to the liquid. I stirred in 1 pound (2 cups) of sugar and left the pot to warm slowly on the burner. I had it turned to low. Another recipe had mentioned keeping the liquid warm but not boiling. I squeezed the lemon slices a bit with a spoon and removed everything from the heat after about 15 minutes. I strained it again and poured the soon to be dandelion wine into preserving jars. I left about an inch of head space in the jar and used plastic lids rather than sealing lids in hopes of avoiding problems when the wine ferments. I’ve heard stories of burst jars and sticky messes. If this works I will have to find my bottles. They haven’t made it back to their usual location after they were packed out more than a year ago.

The Friend contributing this recipe has to remain a mystery. Since I now strongly believe Meda Oberlander played a big role in creating the Berlin Cook Book it is likely she’s connected to the contributor. I’ve discovered that a number of contributors were related by birth or marriage to Miss Oberlander. Mrs George Potter was her sister. The Boullees in New Hamburg (Ontario) and Syracuse (New York) were also relatives. Another possibility is a contributor who attended a church now following a more temperate path. Some members of the Methodist and Presbyterian denominations were active in the temperance movement and might have looked poorly upon a fellow church goer who contributed a recipe for an alcoholic beverage.

Day 1 of Dandelion Wine

Before bottling my fresh dandelion wine, I decided to taste it in its non fermented state. It was delicious!! I was shocked. The sweet lemon flavour made it more like lemonade. There was just a hint of dandelion. This gives me hope that the final product might be drinkable. I have no idea how long I’ll have to wait for that moment. Some other recipes suggest a week or two of fermenting and then another week of rest. I’ll let you know the result.

Dandelion Wine

DANDELION WINE
A Friend
4 quarts of flowers, 8 quarts boiling water, boil for 1/2 hour and then strain, add 6 lemons, 4 pounds of white sugar, strain again and bottle.

Day 370 Syracuse High School Fudge Cake

Today is the last day of April and in Canada it is the last day to file a tax return without penalty. It also marks one year since I found out my job was coming to an end. I think this is a day deserving of chocolate cake. I’ve selected Hulda Boullee’s recipe for Syracuse High School Fudge Cake for this month’s recipe from the 1906 Berlin Cook Book.

I started by creaming the butter and sugar as Miss Boullee suggested. I debated the next step. Usually the yolks of the three eggs would be added now but she seems to indicate the whole eggs are whipped and added at the end. I decided to follow her recipe as written. I mixed in the 2 % milk next. . Sifting isn’t really necessary with modern pre-sifted flour but it is a good idea when combining with baking powder. My baking powder has seen much less use the past few weeks then its almost daily use last year. As a result it is a bit lumpy. Sifting made sure there were no baking powder lumps in the cake. If you don’t have a sifter, a sieve does the trick. I mixed the baking powder/flour combination into the batter.

I wanted to make this cake last year but dreaded grating 1/4 cup of chocolate. Turns out it really isn’t that much chocolate. I used half of a square of Bakers™ unsweetened chocolate. I manually grated my chocolate into a cup and then set the cup in hot water to melt. Meanwhile I measured the walnuts. Once the chocolate was melted I mixed it into the batter along with the walnuts and then whipped the three medium whole eggs. They were a bit frothy when I tried to incorporate them into the rest of the mixture. I’m sure there is some molecular reason for my difficulty blending but I persevered and finally had a smooth batter. I forgot to add any vanilla. I poured the batter into two greased round cake pans and baked them for 30 minutes at 350°F.

The two cake layers were perfectly baked and I set them aside to cool while I started the icing. I melted the butter in a small saucepan and added the cocoa powder. Not surprisingly Hulda uses the American term confectioner’s sugar for what I call icing sugar. I stirred in the icing sugar, milk, and a bit of salt. I turned up the heat until it boiled and then reduced the heat a bit. I let it boil for 8 minutes stirring often. I’m not sure if that was a mistake. I began to realize that I was making fudge as the icing and usually it isn’t to be stirred until the end. At the 8 minute mark I removed the pan from the heat and started stirring. I kept stirring until it was smooth and then added the vanilla.

I didn’t think there was enough icing to use it as a filling as well as a topping so I put the two cake layers together using some raspberry jam. Then I poured the chocolate mixture over top. It looked nice and glossy but was very sticky. I couldn’t wait to taste the cake but let it cool a bit more.

Hulda Boullee was born in New York state in 1885. Her father Ottoman was born in Wilmot Township here in Waterloo Region but emigrated to the United States in 1878. Hulda and another contributor Florence Augusta Boullee are first cousins — their fathers were brothers. Hulda’s mother Louise was born in Germany and emigrated in 1862. I’ve just discovered that Louise was an Oberlander before marriage!! In fact Hulda’s middle name is Oberlander.  This makes Meda Oberlander, the woman I strongly suspect was responsible for the Berlin Cook Book, Hulda’s aunt. Louise was the eldest girl and Meda was the youngest girl in the large Oberlander family. Louise also contributed a recipe to the cook book.

Hulda is the oldest child in the Boullee family and has four brothers and a sister in the 1900 census. Her father is a commercial traveller. The household also includes a 20 year old woman boarder who works as a housekeeper and her mother’s clergyman brother Fred Oberlander. Based on the 1910 census it appears that Mr. Boullee is an agent for a piano business while 24 year old Hulda is a clerk in a business. What doesn’t show in the census is that Hulda was a talented singer. An article in the Waterloo Chronicle Telegraph newspaper on June 28, 1906 (coincidentally just four days after the first ad for the Berlin Cook Book appears in a competitor’s paper) describes her performance at a local fundraising recital.  The article states:

Concert and Organ Recital. In Aid of the Berlin Waterloo Hospital was Well Attended. A Neat Sum Realized.

The concert and organ recital given in the St. John’s Lutheran Church, Waterloo, on Wednesday evening, in aid of the Berlin and Waterloo Hospital, was a most successful affair, both financially and otherwise. Rev. Mr. Maas, of Preston, acted as chairman, and referred in a few appropriate words to the object of the concert, and spoke of the worthiness of the cause for which it was being given. Rev. A. R. Schulz, of Elmira also made a brief address of welcome. Vocal selections were given by Mrs. H. M. Snyder, Miss Huldah Boullee, of Syracuse, N.Y., Miss Ella Anthes, Mr. Chas. Ruby, Mr. Edward Clement, Mr. E. M. Shildrick, and organ numbers by Mrs. Spady, besides selections by the choir of the church, all of which made up an excellent programme, and furnished and evening of enjoyment for those in attendance. The services of those taking part were given gratuitously and their efforts in thus assisting a worthy institution were heartily appreciated. About $50 was realized.

Hulda Boullee married Alfred Crispin in Niagara Falls, Ontario on November 10, 1910. He was a traveller and had been born in Syracuse like Hulda. It appears that his father might have been Canadian born. They were not married in a religious ceremony — perhaps because she was Lutheran and he was Methodist. The couple are still going strong in the 1930 US census. Alfred is a salesman for an oil and gas company. However, the 1940 census shows Hulda living with her cousin Irving Oberlander  and his wife Catherine and their two daughters Meta and Marcia at 216 Sedgwick Street in Syracuse, NY. It indicates that 51 year old Hulda is still married rather than widowed and she’d been living in New York City on April 1, 1935. Like others in the Oberlander family, Irving is a medical doctor. I think I’ll have to do some more research to find out the rest of Hulda’s story.

A slice of Syracuse High School Fudge Cake

This cake did not turn out as I expected. The cake itself is okay. The texture is very nice and the chocolate flavour is mild. This is common for chocolate cakes in the early twentieth century. They usually didn’t have the deep chocolate flavour we expect today. The colour of the cake is a light brown rather than the dark almost black colour I associate with a chocolate cake. The icing wasn’t the fudgy thick icing I loved at childhood birthday parties but rather it was a sticky sort of chocolate candy like coating. Everything tasted fine it just wasn’t what I was hoping to taste. It’s possible I made a mistake while making the icing. Maybe I should not have stirred while it boiled or maybe I should have stirred longer when it came off the heat. Fortunately culinary mistakes are usually still edible.

I’m not sure I’d make Hulda Boullee’s Syracuse High School Fudge Cake again but I will try to find out more about Hulda.

SYRACUSE HIGH SCHOOL FUDGE CAKE
Hulda Boullee, Syracuse, New York
Take 1 cup of sugar, 2/3 cup butter, 3 eggs, 1 cup milk, 2 1/2 cups of flour 2 heaping teaspoons of baking powder, 1//4 cup of grated chocolate, 1/2 cup of English walnuts broken up coarsely. Cream the butter and sugar together, add the cup of milk then stir in lightly the flour in which the baking powder has been sifted. Next stir in the chocolate which has been melted by placing in a cup and setting in hot water. Add the nuts, lastly the eggs which should be beaten to a froth. Vanilla to taste if desired. The fudge frosting should be made as follows. — 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 cup unsweetened powdered cocoa, 1 1/4 cupsful of confectioner’s sugar, a few grains of salt, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Melt butter, add cocoa, sugar, salt and milk heat to boiling point and boil about 8 minutes. Remove from fire and beat until creamy add vanilla and pour over cake to depth of 1/4 inch.

Day 369 To Fry Smelts

Today is Easter Sunday but it is also the last day of March. We’re already seeing signs of spring here in Kitchener. There have been robins and snowdrops and even a few crocuses blooming amid the snow piles. This is also, I’m told, the beginning of the season for smelt. This tiny fish has a fan base like none other. Typically people head out at night into the cold spring lake water wearing hip waders and carrying dip nets to scoop up this little six-inch fish. The season is very short, and I’ve heard the smelt run today is nothing like it was in the past when the water would be alive with silver fish.

A few months ago I happened to see a package of frozen smelt in a grocery store. I bought it since I wasn’t sure I would find fresh smelt and I wanted to try the To Fry Smelts recipe in the 1906 Berlin Cook Book since they are part of my childhood memories. Smelt are tiny little fish that swarm near the shores of the Great Lakes. I grew up near Lake Huron and can remember a neighbour stopping by with a pail of smelt when I was small child about to go to bed. The world stopped as my parents prepared them and had a feast. It was a feast I didn’t join as I didn’t like fish. I still don’t like fish very well but I wanted to try making some of the fish recipes in the 1906 Berlin Cook Book. I was with my family back in that same house for Easter so I had a supply of fish loving tasters. The perfect time to try the recipe called To Fry Smelts, a recipe contributed by Mrs. Simonds.

I rinsed some of the smelt in warm water and then patted them dry. The recipe calls for cutting off the fins but these were already “finless”. I mixed two egg yolks in a bowl with one tablespoon of butter and mixed flour and salt in another bowl. The third bowl contained the small amount of bread crumbs I had available. I melted shortening in a frying pan so that I could deep fry the smelt.

I took each smelt and rolled it in the salted flour and then dipped it in the egg yolk/butter blend. I rolled a few of the smelt in bread crumbs and the rest I rolled a second time in flour. I fried them until golden on both sides and drained on paper towel. I served the fried smelt (minus the parsley garnish)  to my family and I also bravely sampled one.

Mrs. Simonds has a number of seafood recipes in the Berlin Cook Book. She started life as Rosette H. Johnson before marrying Leonard Wells Simonds in   Rosette was born somewhere between 1849 and 1852 in the United States and immigrated to Canada in 1876. Leonard was also born in the US. They eventually had four daughters Evelyn, Edith, Daisy, Georgie and a son Leonard. The 1881 census shows the family living in Berlin Ontario with two children. Leonard works but the occupation isn’t legible. It’s at this point he patents some sort of button. The 1891 census shows him as a traveller. Mother and daughter lived alone at 37 Ahrens street in 1911. Rosette is listed as married rather than widowed but Leonard is not living in the household and the other children are gone. Have they all married? Cyrena (Daisy) was 20 when she married J. Frank Anthes in 1897.  Witnesses included J.C. Breithaupt and Fannie Thompson of Utica NY.  I have more detective work!

I can’t say I enjoyed the smelt but I did eat two and they were edible. I didn’t notice any fishy taste and they were easy to eat. The breaded coating was slightly better than the flour coating.  The fish lovers appreciated the smelt but said I should have put more salt in the flour. My brother says the frozen smelt were not as good as fresh. He says the fresh smelt are sweeter tasting. Therefore if you get your hands on some fresh smelt this spring prepare them quickly and if you don’t already have a favourite recipe than Mrs. Simonds’ recipe “To Fry Smelts” will get you started.

TO FRY SMELTS
Mrs. Simonds
Wash, cut off the fins, and dry with a cloth, melt a spoonful of butter and into it stir the beaten yolks of two eggs, salt and flour the smelts a little, dip into the egg and butter, roll in grated bread crumbs and plunge into boiling fat, fry until of a light yellow-brown; serve upon a napkin garnished with fried parsley.

Day 368 Grape Fruit Cocktail

Tonight my senses are alive with the smell, look, feel, and especially the taste of citrus. I attended the 6th annual Mad for Marmalade, Crazy for Citrus day. I’ve also heard all sorts of interesting stories about citrus fruit. I presented a workshop called ‘Citrus in 1906 Berlin Ontario’ based on the Berlin Cook Book. The participants sampled:

• Ginger Pears from Day 262  https://366dayswiththeberlincookbook.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/day-161-ginger-pears/;
• Pear Marmalade from Day 266 https://366dayswiththeberlincookbook.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/day-266-pear-marmalade/ ;
• Citron Preserves from Day 349  https://366dayswiththeberlincookbook.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/day-349-citron-preserves/ ;
• and Marmalade Pudding from Day 328  https://366dayswiththeberlincookbook.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/day-328-marmalade-pudding/ .

Thanks to the staff and garden volunteers at Waterloo Region Museum, the participants were able to see and taste a citron meIon and take home some seeds. I also turned them into my guinea pigs for tonight’s recipe Grape Fruit Cocktail contributed by the mysterious O. McK.

My first challenge in preparing the recipe for an audience was to determine the type of fruit juice. What did O. McK mean by fruit juice? I couldn’t imagine she, or perhaps he, pulling out a container of frozen fruit punch or a can of juice from the cupboard. I decided to try apple juice since apples are still in season in February and people could still get sweet cider (non alcoholic). I also bought some fresh grape fruit juice as well as some grape fruit.  Since grape fruit is in the recipe maybe that’s the intended juice? With a little research I discovered some other possibilities. On July 9, 1913 an advertisement for Schell Bros. grocers appeared in the Berlin News Record. Among the list of available goods were some listed as Very Specials including New Choice Lemons 2 for 5c, 30c per doz; Lemo or Orangeo per bottle 10 c; Lime juice per large bottle 25c; and raspberry vinegar 25 cents per bottle. I don’t have any raspberry vinegar (also known as shrub) at the moment and it is a concentrate so wasn’t an option. I’m not sure what Lemo or Orangeo contained. Was it a carbonated drink, a concentrate or a juice? Lime juice might be possible but my mouth puckered up at the thought of lime juice with grapefruit segments — quite the combination of sour flavours.

I bought small bottles of St. Remy brandy and some Canadian red wine. The brandy was an obvious choice since according to their website they’ve been around since 1886. I wasn’t sure whether to use red or white wine but other recipes in the Beverage section of the cook book mention claret. The next ingredient to consider was the sugar syrup. The beverage section does not contain a recipe. I decided to assume that this was going to be the same sugar syrup or simple syrup used by bars today to make cocktails, after all this recipe is for a cocktail. Again there were two options: a thicker syrup made by boiling 2 parts sugar and 1 part water, or a thinner syrup of 1 part sugar shaken with 1 part water until dissolved. I made the thicker syrup.

Next I had to consider the grape fruit. What sort of grape fruit was available in 1906? The contemporary newspapers seem to have oranges and lemons for sale year round but I didn’t notice grapefruit. My decision was made when only pink or red grapefruit are currently for sale in the grocery stores around me.

I have no information about O. McK.  My search of Waterloo Region Generations website turns up just five people with the first initial O and a surname starting with McK. They are all too young to have contributed this recipe — especially one containing alcohol. The temperance movement existed in Canada in 1906 with organizations like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union growing each year and providing an opportunity for many women to develop skills in political and social action. I was very surprised to see a cocktail recipe in the 1906 Berlin Cook Book. There are other recipes containing alcohol but none are called a cocktail. I learned a lot about the history and production of beverage alcohol when I worked at the Seagram Museum in Waterloo. One of the temporary exhibits was a wonderful look at the history of the cocktail including all the necessary equipment. I was sure I remembered the cocktail as  a 1920s creation. I couldn’t imagine the world of the cocktail existing in Berlin Ontario in 1906. Clearly I was wrong. It was time to share my discovery with others.

I packed my supplies and made my way to Fort York Historic Site in Toronto, setting up in the block house — a good place to test an alcoholic drink! The brave workshop participants sampled four preserves and the marmalade pudding before I started mixing their drinks. It wasn’t even noon yet so I made small drinks.  I put ice in each cup and then mixed the liquids in a jar. I put a piece of grapefruit in the cup and then poured in the liquid. We started with apple juice as the fruit juice component and then switched to using grapefruit juice after the first tasters mentioned it was a very sweet tasting drink. The grapefruit cut a bit of the sweetness but I started easing back on the sugar syrup. One participant suggested using a thinner sugar syrup next time.  Overall the tasters liked the drink. The brandy and wine didn’t overpower the fruit taste but like many other fruit based cocktails O. McK.’s Grape Fruit Cocktail was quite sweet. I think this recipe has time travelled rather well and can rejoin the ranks of fruit based cocktails like the Singapore Sling and the Daiquiri in bars and homes.

Somewhere I have a copy of  the exhibit catalogue for The Art of the Cocktail from that long ago Seagram Museum show. I wonder if it mentions a Grape Fruit Cocktail?

If you too are Mad for Marmalade or Crazy for Citrus, be sure to bookmark this site http://www.fortyork.ca/news-a-events/events/161-mad-for-marmalade-crazy-for-citrus.html  for announcements in 2014 of the the next celebration of all things citrus. It is a great event with a wonderful mix of people sharing their love of food and/or history. We had a delicious lunch and all sorts of special treats featuring lemons, limes, or oranges. There were goodie bags and door prizes, a baking/preserving competition, workshops, demonstrations, and talks and did I mention the food?  In March and April I’ll be at several more events talking about the Berlin Cook Book and some include food too! Check out my Workshops/Events/Media page above for more information.

GRAPE FRUIT COCKTAIL
O. McK.
Into a glass nearly full with shaved ice, put 4 tablespoons of fruit juice, 2 of sugar syrup, 2 tablespoons of brandy and 1 tablespoon of wine. Stir well for a moment, then strain off into a cocktail glass, adding a small piece of solid grape fruit pulp.

Day 367 Moka Cake

Surprise! I’m back. It’s been twenty-five days since I last posted or cooked from the 1906 Berlin Cook Book. I had intended to just take a few days off before starting to write once a week but I got sick. Later I just couldn’t get interested in it again. The cook book sat out and I ignored it. I suppose it isn’t surprising after spending 366 days getting to know this cook book intimately. I also associated it with some difficult times.

Today, I wanted something sweet. All the Christmas goodies are gone and I’ve been making do with some store-bought cookies but today I was ready to bake again. I planned to use my special Christmas gift — a turquoise Kitchen Aid stand mixer — to make cookies or brownies. And then finally I thought about the many untouched dessert recipes in the Berlin Cook Book. Perhaps I could use my fancy mixer to make something from it? But it just seemed wrong. Instead I pulled out my spoons and china cups and mixing bowl and got to work baking a cake 1906 style.

This recipe for Moka Cake was submitted by Mrs. George Baltzer for the 1906 Berlin Cook Book. The mixing method is interesting. It begins with blending eggs and sugar. My first task was to get some milk on to boil since I would need it later. Then I cracked my two medium eggs into a mixing bowl and beat them well. I slowly added the sugar and again beat the mixture. The flour and cream of tartar went in next. The mixture was quite thick at this point. I put the butter in the boiling milk and once it was melted I stirred in the salt and baking soda too. It was fun to see it bubble up. I poured in the hot milk and it blended well. The final ingredient was lemon but I wasn’t sure what was meant. Should I add lemon extract, or lemon juice? I finally decided to add some lemon zest. I grated the skin of about half a lemon. The batter went into a greased round cake pan. I only needed one cake pan as this is a small recipe. The cake baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

While the cake baked I started the filling. First I needed to make some coffee. I make terrible coffee but in this case it doesn’t matter as I just needed two teaspoons of strong coffee. I creamed the butter and icing sugar and then added the coffee, cocoa and vanilla. The mixture looked, smelled and tasted wonderful! I left the cake to cool before slicing it across the middle with a butter knife. This is one sturdy cake! I spread the filling on top of the bottom cake layer and then put on the top. The filling is the perfect amount. Finally it was time to cut a slice of cake and taste.

Mrs. George Baltzer was once known as Mary L. Penfold before her marriage in 1897. She was born in Paris Ontario in 1866. George was an insurance clerk when they married but by the 1901 census he was an accountant in Berlin. His widowed mother Lena continued to live in Berlin appearing in the 1911 census, but I hadn’t been able to find George and Mary. Today I found an internet site that states George died in January 1910 at 91 Queen Street North in Berlin Ontario. He was just 39 years old. So what happened to Mary? Did she remarry or move in with a relative back in Paris?

This cake is good but had a slightly rubber texture. It is a sponge style cake so it might be expected but perhaps it is also due to under or over mixing or perhaps it is intended to be a good sturdy cake. I think I might have over baked it a bit. I liked the lemon flavour and was surprised it combined so well with the filling which is wonderful. I highly recommend it if you like mocha flavours. I wonder if Mary (Penfold) Baltzer made it often or if it was reserved for special occasions. It is relatively easy to make and doesn’t require unusual ingredients or very much of the expensive ingredients. Mrs. George Baltzer’s Mocha Cake recipe was a very good way to return to 1906.

MOKA CAKE
Mrs. George Baltzer
2 eggs beaten light, 1 cup sugar beaten in gradually, 1 1/2 cup flour with 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoon soda, add last 1/2 cup of boiling milk into which has been melted 1 teaspoon butter, a little salt and lemon.
Filling — 1/4 cup butter creamed with 1 heaping cup icing sugar, 2 teaspoons of strong coffee, 2 teaspoons cocoa, 1 teaspoon vanilla, beat together and spread.

Day 366 Devilled Crabs, Creamed Lobster, Pigs In Blanket, and Dressing for Raw Oysters

Wow, I did it! This is my 366th entry and time for a bit of a celebration since I achieved what I promised. For one year — a leap year  — I have cooked, blogged, and researched every single day no matter what else happened. Every day I have dipped into the 1906 Berlin Cook Book and tried to enter the world of the women who contributed recipes for this one community cook book. Some sections of the cook book have received short shrift for a number of reasons. One section I barely touched was Fish and Oysters so for this final entry of this year-long challenge I am challenging myself to cook with and eat oysters, crab and lobster. I am making Mrs. Geo. Potter’s Devilled Crab, Mrs. Wieland of Montreal’s Creamed Lobster, Nettie B. Smith’s Dressing for Raw Oysters from the Archwright Club of New York, and Pigs in Blanket from Mrs. E. Hollinger’s recipe. It seems appropriate to make these things for New Years Eve since many people have such dishes on this special evening. I am going to a New Years Eve party and so I’ll have some people to help me sample these recipes since I have no way of knowing if they are good or just filled with seafood I’ve never eaten. I can’t stay long at the party since I am volunteering overnight at Out of the Cold (a local shelter system).

My first task was to get some eggs on the boil as several of the recipes call for hard boiled eggs. I also purchased some ingredients at the store including some of the seafood and Tobasco and Worcestershire sauces. Both of these sauces are very old products. Lea and Perrins has been making Worcestershire Sauce since the early 1800s according to their website http://www.leaperrins.com/history.aspx .  McIlhenny’s Tobasco Sauce is a little newer. It’s been around since 1868 according to their website http://www.tabasco.com/mcilhenny-company/

I started by making the Dressing for Raw Oysters. I measured and mixed the vinegar, ground red pepper, ground black pepper, Tobasco sauce and chopped the chives. I couldn’t add the shallot as I forgot to buy one in my quick trip to the grocery store this afternoon. I used a bit of onion instead. It will be a little more harsh than a shallot but I hope will give the same flavour. I packed it into a container to take to the party along with the live oysters and oyster knife I bought at the store.

Next I mixed up the ingredients for the Devilled Crabs. I couldn’t get live or even whole crabs so I’m using frozen crab meat. I melted butter and flour and then added the cream. I chopped up the mushrooms and added them along with the chopped hard boiled eggs, salt and dry mustard powder. I like cheese so I added it instead of the lemon juice.  the seasonings. Finally I measured and added the tabasco and Worcester sauces and the parsley. I mixed in the thawed crab. I had to buy a package of frozen crab meat — something not available in 1906 — instead of a live or even fresh crab.  It’s also available canned. I warmed up the mixture at the party and served it with toast.

My can of lobster

I moved on to making the Creamed Lobster. I put milk, flour, salt and pepper in a saucepan and once it boiled I added the mashed egg yolks, bread crumbs, parsley, and grated some nutmeg. Once mixed I removed from heat and took it to the party where I reheated and poured it over the canned lobster I finally found in my home town grocery store over Christmas. Apparently canned lobster is now frozen. I let mine thaw and took it to the party. I served it with toast.

I sliced the smoked bacon at home too and took the slices and toothpicks with me to the party. The final step for Pigs in Blanket was to shuck the live oysters I bought today. I took the box of oysters and shucking knife to the party and hoped either someone there knew what to do or that I could learn the technique quickly since I needed the oysters for both the Pigs in Blanket and to try the Dressing for Raw Oysters.

Mrs Geo. Potter is likely Matilda Oberlander — sister to Meda Oberlander the prolific contributor to this cook book and Alexander the St. Paul’s Lutheran minister in Berlin. Matilda had one child at the time the cook book was published and another a few years later. Her husband George Potter was a hardware merchant. The couple lived at 22 Weber street West. I made Mrs. E. Hollinger’s recipe for Tea Biscuits just a few days ago. Mary and her husband Ed ran a hotel.

Back in September I made Mrs. Weiland of Montreal’s Macaroni and Cheese. I suspect that the Mrs. Wieland who contributed the lobster recipe is the same person. I wonder if Mrs. William Weiler of Baden is the same person as Mrs. Weiler of Montreal. The first Mrs. Weiler’s husband worked in the Livingston oil mill in Baden. Did the family move to Montreal? They are still here in the 1911 census along with a few more children. The 1911 census doesn’t have any Weilers or Wielers in Quebec.

This is the first time I’ve made a recipe contributed by Nettie B. Smith. There is a Nettie Smith in the 1911 census in Berlin Ontario but she is the wife of a Norman Smith and she’s just 24 years old. I wonder if a married woman would be using her first name. In the Waterloo Generations website Norman is married to Nelda D. Kleeberger so I don’t think this is the right person. Could Nettie actually be associated with the club? It is interesting that the recipe also mentions the Archwright Club in New York. I think the actual spelling of the club is Arkwright. Here’s a 1907 banquet menu from the Arkwright Club http://menus.nypl.org/menus/24362 The club was located at Broadway and Duane Street, Mutual Reserve Building. The following quote comes from a legal website http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=1954528117FSupp411_1427.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985  and explains the membership of the Arkwright Club which was originally founded as a social club back in 1893.

Any male person, twenty-one years of age and of good character, was eligible to membership in the club, but all of its 1,088 members, resident and nonresident, except 67, were connected with the textile industry. It was used primarily at the luncheon hour, and to a much lesser extent in the late afternoon. Members met for luncheon either to discuss business or for social intercourse, as they might choose. Members met in the afternoon either for business or for social intercourse. Ladies were admitted to the club, but there were no private quarters for them other than a powder room.

I wonder how this recipe ended up in the Berlin Cook Book?

This is the oyster I ate.

Fortunately the guests at the New Years Eve party were a brave and hearty group. They were willing tasters. One man put the recipes in order of preference. He liked the devilled crabs best, then the pigs in blanket and finally the creamed lobster. I couldn’t convince anyone to try eating a raw oyster so I my view is the only one. Yes, I ate a raw oyster! In fact I had to teach myself how to shuck oysters in order to make the pigs in blanket and to taste the raw oyster. I was shocked that I really really liked the raw oyster plain and the dressing was good too. Everyone liked the devilled crab with toast or on crackers. One person said the only fault with it was that there wasn’t a spoon available to eat it!! I didn’t mind the devilled crab and the creamed lobster either but I’d eliminate the egg. As regular readers know I don’t like eggs. I’m using my hosts’ computer so I’ll post the pictures tomorrow.

So I am sitting in a 1906 house at the moment with the buzz of conversation around me as old friends and new ones chat with each other. I always love this party as the conversations range all over the place. Were there new years eve parties in 1906? Did people eat things like I made tonight? Obviously these recipes existed then so it is possible. The devilled crabs might have been served at suppers after a dance or even for a lunch for a group of women. The creamed lobster would be the same. Oysters were shipped in barrels to Berlin Ontario to serve the needs of individual homes and organizations hosting oyster suppers, especially in December. I’ve followed tradition by having several different oyster dishes tonight. And …. I met another challenge! I learned to shuck an oyster and to eat it raw!

Thank you all for reading and commenting whether you started back with me 366 days ago on January 1st or if you found this blog more recently. I’ve enjoyed learning from and with you as we explored the world of Berlin Ontario in 1906 and celebrated cityhood one hundred years ago in 1912. And never forget that the recipes of the past can be used an enjoyed anytime.

Happy New Year!

Devilled Crab

DEVILLED CRABS
Mrs. Geo. E. Potter
6 crabs, 3 or 4 mushrooms, 2 hard boiled eggs chopped fine, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, cook thoroughly, add 1 cup cream, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and mustard, and either 2 tablespoons grated cheese or 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 drops Tobasco sauce, 1 teaspoon parsley, minced and 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

 

Creamed Lobster

CREAMED LOBSTER
Mrs. Wieland, Montreal
1/2 pint milk, 1 tablespoonful flour, salt, pepper, let come to a boil, then add yolks of hard boil eggs mashed, 2 tablespoonsful bread crumbs, 1/4 grated nutmeg, parsley cut fine, put over can of lobster while hot, and garnish with strips of toast.

DRESSING FOR RAW OYSTERS
Archwright Club New York, Nettie B. Smith
1/2 pint vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper, 1/ teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon “Tobasco sauce, 2 chives chopped fine, 1 shallot, chopped fine. Serve in small sauce boat or bowl. Dip on to the oysters in the half shell.

Pigs in Blankets

PIGS IN BLANKET
Mrs. E. Hollinger
Season large oysters with salt and pepper, cut very thin slices of bacon, trim off rind and smoked edge, wrap each oyster in a slice of bacon and fasten with a small wooden skewer put in a hot omelet pan and cook just long enough to crisp bacon. Serve on small pieces of toast.

Day 365 Baked Apple Dumplings and Sauce of Apple Dumplings

Two of my guests brought apple pie for our Christmas gathering.  We finally finished it today but soon there were cravings for another apple dessert so I am making Baked Apple Dumplings along with Sauce of Apple Dumplings. These recipes don’t have a contributor listed. They are part of a section in the 1906 Berlin Cook Book called Fruits in Various Ways.

I started by making the dough for the crust. I put four and a half cups of flour into a bowl and then added a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt. I double checked the amount of butter since it seemed so small but it was correct — butter the size of an egg. Once the butter was rubbed in I started adding milk. It took over one cup of regular milk to create a suitable dough for rolling. I rolled out the dough even thinner than the 1/2 inch required as it seemed very thick. I cut the dough into squares with four-inch sides. I put five squares on a greased cookie sheet.

Next my sister and I started preparing the filling. I thought about whether my sister should be helping. Did that compromise my idea of cooking everyday from the Berlin Cook Book. But then, I realized that of course people often worked together to make something even in 1906. We peeled both sweet apples (Macintosh) and tart (Spy) to create a more complex flavour in the filling. I chopped the apples into small pieces and mixed the together before putting two tablespoons in the centre of the squares of dough. I sprinkled flour on top of the apples and placed bits of butter too. I put two tablespoons of sugar on each square and we decided to add both cinnamon and lemon as flavour.

It was easier than I expected to fold the dough around the filling. I took opposite corners and brought them together and did the same on the opposite side of the square. I then squeezed the seams to seal them. I covered the pan while we all went out to the park to see the lights. Unfortunately just as we left my book case of cook books collapsed. We enjoyed the lights but on our return we boxed the books and I continued getting the dumplings ready so we could have a nice warm treat.  I sprinkled sugar and bits of butter on top of each before pouring a cup of warm water around them on the pan. I baked the apple dumplings at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until they were beginning to brown.

While the dumplings baked I prepared the sauce. In a small saucepan, I creamed the butter and sugar and then added the flour. I stirred in the cream and finally mixed in the boiling water. I put the pan on the stove at low heat and kept stirring until everything was melted. Then I turned up the heat a bit and continued stirring as it thickened a bit. Once the dumplings were ready, I plated the with some sauce and we tasted.

Baked Apple Dumpling with sauce

The dumplings were too large for one each so I cut them in half and put the sauce around. They received mixed reviews. The crust was deemed cardboard by one person but others found it had a strange appeal. The filling was a hit. The sauce also was not appreciated by most of us. I had flavoured it with nutmeg and discovered several people don’t like that flavour. It was too milky for some people.

BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS
Make a crust of one quart of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, butter or lard the size of an egg, and a pinch of salt. Rub all together and add enough of sweet milk to make a middling stiff dough; roll out about half an inch thick and cut into square pieces the size of a large saucer. Place 2 or 3 tablespoons of finely chopped apples in the centre of the dough, sprinkle with a little flour, lay some little pieces of butter on the apples, add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to each dumpling, flavor with lemon or cinnamon, then draw up the corners of the dough and pinch the edges together. Put into a large flat pan, giving room to swell. Sprinkle a little sugar and a few bits of butter over the top and pour into the pan half a pint of warm water. Bake until a nice brown. Serve hot with hot pudding sauce. These puddings can be made smaller, each one just the size for one person.

SAUCE OF APPLE DUMPLINGS
One teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 a teacup of butter, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch or sifted flour, cream the butter and sugar together, and add the sifted flour and 3 tablespoons of sweet cream. Mix thouroughly [sic] and pour in slowly 1 teacup of boiling water, stirring constantly. Flavor with lemon or nutmeg and serve warm with the dumplings.