A Year of Encyclopedic Cookery in Review

Here we are at the end of the year, twelve volumes later. The Encyclopedia of Cookery has worn well this year! First, a huge thank you to my partner, who carried us through the tough times when I was too tired/stressed/uninspired/sick/busy to cook anything. This has really been a joint project.

This has been a wonderful adventure into cooking techniques and foodways of 50 years ago. It has been, by turns, challenging, amusing, scary, puzzling, and, most days, delicious. My favorite, hands down, is the Blueberry Betty from volume 1. Candidates for further favorites include the Frikadeller, East Indian Marinated Lamb Chops, and the last volume’s Yam Spicecake. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about these recipes, and that you are inspired to seek out the Encyclopedia and try these, and other, recipes from our mothers’ and grandmothers’ day. Happy cooking, and happy sharing with others.

 

Bonus – Vol. 12, recipe 5 – Chicken Avocado Tostada

Leftover chicken? Tostadas! Since this is a bonus recipe, we took a couple of liberties. First, it calls for avocado slides, and we used guacamole. Didn’t hurt a thing! We also didn’t have as much lettuce as this called for, but that didn’t seem a lack either. We slipped in some blue corn chips on the side, to soak up the extra goodies that spilled over on the plate. Quite delightful! Bueno!!!

Vol. 12, recipe 4 – Seattle Dutch Babies

These are eggy baked pancakes with no sugar added until the dusting of powdered sugar (optional) before serving. I chopped up some peeled, cored apples and sautéed them in butter with a dash of cinnamon and a little bit of brown sugar. The pancake makes a nice little container for this filling. These are delightful!

Vol. 12, recipe 3 – Welsh Rabbit with Beer

We have long had a fascination with Welsh Rabbit (or Rarebit) – no rabbit involved, by the way. Lots of cheese. This recipe includes a bit of beer – I used Leinenkugel’s Snowdrift Vanilla Porter® which worked well, although I might try a lighter beer next time just to see how it contrasts. The picture I took is just completely unappetizing looking, so I will send you here for a lovely picture, and where I found out that September 3 is apparently National Welsh Rarebit day. Who knew? Next September, I have the recipe ready to go!

 

 

Vol. 12, recipe 2 – Wild Rice Stuffing

We’re getting to the end of the alphabet, but what wonderful things are available in the letters above T! It’s officially winter, so we’re all about roasting things. This week is was a big chicken. Stuffing? Yes please! For this recipe, we used lovely local wild rice (manoomin) from Native Harvest at White Earth up north (bozhoo friends!). This stuffing is relatively simple, complementing the wild rice with mushrooms and celery. Scrumptious, mmm (and remember, I’m no fan of mushrooms). Miijidaa! Enjoy your winter roasting!

Vol. 12, recipe 1 – Yam Spicecake

We made this for my partner to take in to his high schoolers for a pre-holiday celebration. The cake tastes much like an apple or pumpkin spice cake. We went with cream cheese frosting instead of the plain white recommended in the book. This was such a hit that two people have asked for the recipe!

Vol. 11, recipe 4 – Whole Cranberry Sauce

Given that this is the volume that contains “Thanksgiving”, it is only fitting that we make something from that section for the day. In this case, I tried their whole cranberry sauce. You basically make a sugar syrup and throw the cranberries in to cook for 5 minutes. I added a touch of orange zest and cut the sugar by 25%. It was still sweet! I think it didn’t gel as much because the ratio of water to sugar was out of whack. I might try it with cutting both sugar and water and see if that’s enough syrup to sustain the same quantity of cranberries. In any event, this was fantastic, even if you did need a spoon!

 

Vol. 11, recipe 3 – Stracotto Sauce

Billed as “one of the best of all Italian pasta sauces” this recipes comes from the Spaghetti section of volume 11. A blend of beef, mushrooms, and wine, it is quite lovely. As you can see, this is a thick, hearty sauce rather than a thinner, coat-each-strand-of-pasta sort of sauce. Enjoy!

Vol. 11, recipe 2 – Spiced Spareribs

From the Spareribs section, these emphasize allspice. It’s a lovely spice that doesn’t really get enough use, IMHO. The sauce for these can be poured over when serving. As you can see, we paired these with mashed potato and Brussels sprouts. My dining partner notes that the sauce makes a fine gravy for the mashed too.

Vol. 11, recipe 1 – Cowpuncher Chili Pie

From the Southwestern section of volume 11, this month brings a family favorite that many companies have put out recipes for – chili on the bottom, cornbread topping. YUM! Top view – lovely golden corn crust. Side view – colorful layers of chili. Chili for when it’s chilly outside! (No comments about the rather odd recipe naming conventions of 50 years ago.) Enjoy!