As you may be aware, I am leaving tomorrow for Florida, to visit my A to Z
Recipes family. The Florida Bunch will be meeting on Saturday, December
11th, at The Olive Garden in West Port Richey at noon.? If you'd like for
us to phone you while we are all together so you can join in the fun, please let
me know by sending me an email at this link: Call Me!. I am due back from Florida late
on Tuesday, December 13th. Linda from Michigan will be the publisher of
issues scheduled for posting on Wednesday, Friday, and the following Monday.
The theme issue (it is huge) will be posted on Sunday the 12th.
The format in this issue will depart from the norm as I am including recipes
only. Most of the usual trappings will not be in today's issue.
Oh! The newest monthly theme is announced in this issue.? It will be a
great one, too.? It will guarantee that no one sends in the same recipe as
you.? Go to the Next Monthly Theme section and read all about it.
Today, I thought I would share you with a gift. While I wish I could send the
actual cookbooks from which the recipes came, I thought giving you my bird's eye
view might be special. I hope you enjoy reading through the recipes shared here
today as much as we did preparing and
eating them!
The Original White House Cook Book 1887 Edition
I received this book as a gift from Barbara in Chula Vista, CA. When
she was preparing to send it, she said it was "educational materials" I would be
receiving, for me and my kids. Now, how can a cook book be educational for kids?
This one is chock-full of history. Not only of the White House but of its
"residents" and staff. The recipes, while being dated, are anything but
out-of-date. Each is charming and gives the reader a "feel" for the time in
which it was cooked. My kids have both turned pages and been captivated by the
times in which the recipes were written. And, of course, they have selected a
few they found unique and tasty for good "old" Mom to prepare.
The publishers of this book state: "Convenience has been studied in the make-up
of the book. The type is large and plain; it is sewed by patent flexible
process, so that when opened it will not close of itself, and is bound in
enameled cloth, adapted for use in the kitchen." The book is gorgeous to look at
with its pages edged in gold. I consider it a treasure as much for the eyes as
the soul.
The following recipes are a mere sample of the 570 pages of this wonderful book.
You will notice the recipes do not follow the more contemporary fashion of
ingredient lists and directions. They are in paragraph (and quite useable!)
form. I hope you enjoy this visit with a great book. If you're interested in
getting your own copy, you may check it out here.
![The Original White House Cookbook]()
The Original White House Cookbook
Your purchase supports A to Z Recipes
Potato Fillets
Page 173
My son saw this recipe and said "Hey, Mom! This looks like French fries!" Well,
it is French Fries. And it employs a nifty process of double-frying which is key
to crispy yet puffy potatoes.
Pare and slice the potatoes thin; cut them if you like small fillets, about a
quarter of an inch square, an as long as the potato will admit; keep them in
cold water until wanted, then drop them into boiling lard; when nearly done,
take them out with a skimmer and drain them, boil up the lard again, drop the
potatoes back and fry till done; this operation causes the fillets to swell up
and puff.
?
Scalloped Onions
Page 177
Take eight or ten onions of good size, slice them, and boil until tender. Lay
them in a baking-dish, put in bread-crumbs, butter in small bits, pepper and
salt, between each layer until the dish is full, putting bread-crumbs last; add
milk or cream until full. Bake twenty minutes or half an hour.
A little onion is not an injurious article of food, as many believe. A judicious
use of plants of the onion family is quite as important a factor in successful
cookery as salt and pepper. When carefully concealed by manipulation in food, it
affords zest and enjoyment to many who could not otherwise taste of it were its
presence known. A great many successful compounds derive their excellence from
the partly concealed flavor of the onion, which imparts a delicate appetizing
aroma highly prized by epicures.
?
Ladies Cabbage
Page 178
Boil a firm white cabbage 15 minutes, changing the water for more from the
boiling tea-kettle. When tender, drain and set aside until perfectly cold. Chop
fine and add two beaten eggs, a tablespoon of butter, pepper, salt, three
tablespoons rich milk or cream. Stir all well together, and bake in a buttered
pudding-dish until brown. Serve very hot. This dish resembles cauliflower and is
very digestible and palatable.
?
The President's Own White House Cookbook, 1968
Another gift included in our "educational materials" from Barbara was a book
called The President's Own White House Cookbook, 1968.? It is
another cookbook that will be treasured.? Barbara knows that sometimes you
have to sneak in education, and this is a classic example of it.? As my
kids perused the pages with the intention of "finding something for Mom to
prepare", they took a long time reading about the history of the recipes, and
the historical stories surrounding each.? If you care to claim the book for
your very own, you
may do so here.
The President's Own White House Cookbook, 1968
After Christmas in 1963, Chancellor Ludwig Erhard of Germany spent a weekend
with the Lyndon B. Johnson's on their central Texas ranch. He was treated to
Texas barbeques, fried catfish, and American pecan and apple pies. The dessert
served at luncheon one day was a chocolate cake with a typically Texan
coconut-pecan frosting.
Lyndon B. Johnson's
Texas Chocolate Cake
Page 88
4 ounce sweet chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Texas Coconut-Pecan Frosting (see recipe)
Melt chocolate in the boiling water; cool. Cream butter and vanilla extract
thoroughly; and sugar gradually, creaming until fluffy after each addition. Add
egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Mix in melted
chocolate. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together; add alternately in
fourths with buttermilk to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
Fold in egg whites, beaten until stiff, not dry, peaks are formed. Turn into
three 8-inch greased (bottoms only) layer cake pans. Bake at 350F 30 to 40
minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool layers completely before frosting with
Texas Coconut-Pecan Frosting.
Texas Coconut-Pecan Frosting
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Combine evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla extract. Cook and
stir over medium heat until thickened, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add
coconut and pecans. Beat until cool and thick enough to spread.
Enough to frost tops of three 8-inch round layer cakes
Lady Bird Johnson's
Pecan Pie
Page 94
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, well beaten
2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
One unbaked 9-inch pastry shell
Let butter stand at room temperature in a covered mixing bowl until very soft.
Add sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract, and salt; beat until thoroughly blended.
Add eggs and beat gently until blended. Stir in pecans. Pour into pie shell and
bake at 375F about 40 minutes, or until top is toasted brown and filling is set
when the pie is gently rocked.
One 9-inch pie
Admittedly, Mamie Eisenhower doesn't care for cooking. Ike is the chef of the
family. But Mamie made a "courtin" fudge she used to serve Ike when he was a
young lieutenant. Legend has it Ike gave it the name "Mamie's Million Dollar
Fudge."
Mamie's
Million Dollar Fudge
Page 104
4 1/2 cups sugar
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) evaporated milk
12 ounces (1 package) semisweet chocolate pieces
12 ounces sweet chocolate
1 pint marshmallow cream
2 cups nuts
Combine the first 4 ingredients and boil 6 minutes. Put the following into a
large bowl: the chocolate pieces, the sweet chocolate, marshmallow cream, and
nuts. Pour the boiling syrup over ingredients in the bowl; beat until chocolate
is melted. Pour into pan; let stand a few hours before cutting. Store in tin
box.
About 5 pounds fudge
Piece de resistance of White House chefs, favorite of many Presidents, it is
believed that Onion Soup was originated by a king. Returning late at night to
his hunting lodge, Louis XV of France found only onions, butter and champagne.
Hungry and weary, he simply cooked them together and...voila!
French Onion Soup
Page 8
16 to 18 medium onions
1/2 pound butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, minced
1 tablespoon minced parsley
2 tablespoons flour
6 cups beef bouillon
6 cups boiling water
1 ham bone, cleaned of meat
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground thyme
Salt and pepper
French bread
Butter
1 clove garlic, bruised
Parmesan or Gruyere cheese, grated
Slice onions on the bias; this eliminates the worry about breaking up onion
rings when they are stirred. Using a large saucepot, saute onions in butter
until they have become very browned, but not burned. During the last few minutes,
add the garlic, celery, and parsley. Sprinkle in flour and blend. Meanwhile,
have heating in a large soup kettle, the beef bouillon and water. Add the ham
bone, herbs, salt and pepper; blend with browned vegetables. Bring to boiling
and cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and
cook an hour; skim top, if necessary. Trim crusts from several slices of French
bread, cube, and saute until golden brown in butter heated with remaining
garlic. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan or Gruyere cheese. Place cubes on a
baking sheet and broil until cheese is brown and bubbly. To serve: place some
croutons in bottom of soup bowl or tureen, pour over some soup; croutons will
float upwards. Pour on remainder of soup; garnish with additional croutons.
Serve with bowl of additional Parmesan cheese.
About 4 quarts soup
A favorite of George Washington and F.D.R....
Crab Bisque
Page 10
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 hard-cooked eggs, sieved
Grated peel of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1 quart milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon onion juice
Pinch of ground mace
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cups cooked, fresh crab meat or frozen Alaska king crab
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sherry
Blend melted butter, flour, sieved eggs, lemon peel and Worchestershire sauce to
a paste and put into the top of a double boiler. Combine and scald milk and
cream; blend in onion juice and mace. Adding slowly stir into paste in double
boiler; bring to boiling over direct heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 to 2
minutes. Set over simmering water. Add salt, pepper, and crab meat. Saute
mushrooms and celery in the butter and add to the bisque. Before serving, stir
in the sherry.
About 1 1/2 quarts soup
President Kennedy's
Baked Seafood Casserole
Page 52
1/2 pound fresh, cooked crab meat
1/2 pound fresh, cooked lobster meat
1 pound cooked, deveined shrimp
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
2 cups crushed potato chips
Mix all ingredients except potato chips and paprika; turn into a greased
casserole. Cover with the crushed potato chips. Sprinkle with paprika. Heat in a
400 F oven 20 to 25 minutes.
6 to 8 servings
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