Batter-Splattered

vintage cookbooks

When I spotted these old cookbooks spread out in a row across the magazine rack at the thrift store, I marched right up and slid them swiftly into a stack like I was dealing cards in Vegas and walked away, attracting the attention of the guy examining the vhs tapes next to the magazine rack. I left him wondering what he'd missed out on. Sucker.

There's the Scandinavian Cookbook with recipes for herring salad, fish balls, stuffed cabbage rolls (1 lb veal, ground four times, 1 lb beef, ground four times), cardamom braid, danish rum pudding I, danish rum pudding II, and danish rum pudding III (I was disappointed to learn that the difference between the three was not escalating levels of rum).

The French Cookbook has 141 world-renowned recipes, including Mouthfuls for the Queen (o la la), frozen bombe, choux paste fritters, jugged hare sologne style, and a bacon tart. In case you're wondering, Mouthfuls for the Queen are pastry shell stuffed with mushrooms, chicken, almonds, and capers. Those sound delightful.

The New England Cookbook has recipes for Birds Nest Pudding, Election Day Yeast Cakes, Joe Froggers, Stay-Popped Popovers, Quahog Chowder, and Yankee Pot Roast.

The Cooling Dishes for Hot Weather cookbook has recipes for Sea-Food Stuffed Avocados, Celery Whirls, Iced Cocoa, Frog Legs, Grape Sparkle, and Perch Kebabs.

The Creole Cookbook has recipes for Pickled Fresh Tongue, Quick Calas, Rabbit Stew, Sally Lunn, Shrimp De Jonghe, Creole Chocolate Cake, Southern Batter Bread, and Crayfish Bisque.

The German and Viennese Cookbook has recipes for Almond Snails, Blitz Torte, Cauliflower a la Mousseline, Filled Berlin Donuts, Custard Cubes, Drop Noodles, Emperor's Dessert, Hamburg Style Haddock, Witch's Snow, Wiener Schnitzel, and Wilted Lettuce Salad.

It's a recipe wonderland.

Cabin camping trip

Three gals and two dogs set off for an adventure this weekend. We rented the Bald Lake cabin for two nights and we all had ourselves a wonderful time.

I've stayed in many public use cabins in Alaska but this is the first time I've been to this one. It instantly became one of my favorites.

Scout had issues:

Ready to make ourselves at home:

A huge birch tree almost finished off by a beaver:

And what did we eat, you might be wondering? The first night we had a fondue feast:

It was so delicious and we ate so much cheese that later that night we all swore we would never eat cheese ever again.

Can you tell where the leftover cheese got tossed in the snow?

On the way out of town we bought a thrift store romance to read aloud. A reluctant bachelor minister? Ha.

Out on the lake:

Our long shadows:

And finally, I will leave you with this horrifying image. Not only did this outhouse wobble backwards when you sat down, it also featured a metal seat.

thanksgiving

Huh -- that's funny. That recipe only called for a quarter-cup of bourbon:

High bush cranberries I picked in my yard:

And storebought cranberries. So pretty.

Check out this thrift store score of mine.



I thought 8 dollars was a little steep (see how the price is handwritten on the box?) but ultimately, I just had to have it. Love the red fingernails. Here's what's inside:

Growing up, I hated canned jellied cranberry sauce but I've since come to terms with it and now appreciate its old-school, kitschy charm.

Kentucky derby pie -- that's what the bourbon was for.

This pretty much sums up Thanksgiving cooking for me:

And I'd already emptied the sinks once before this photo was taken. The dishwasher was running in the background.

That's gruyere and walnut wheat bread (made in another recent thrift store score -- a cuisinart convection bread maker), cranberry sauce, and the pie. A pumpkin pie is added to the line-up:

Here's the bread all sliced up and snuggled in yet another thrift store score -- a vintage, mint condition Irish linen dishtowel -- you can't see it but in the center is a big beautiful yellow rose.

A cherry pie -- requested by my husband:

Whew! That was alot of work. I spent all day cooking, then we loaded everything in the car to have dinner at my parent's house. And because my dad's birthday coincided with Thanksgiving this year, I wrapped up a gift for him, in the middle of all the baking.

And here's a photo of the whole spread, just before we dug in. Not too shabby. My fridge is stuffed with leftovers. I won't have to cook again for days.

 

who dat

Not sure if the Saints are thinkin' this, but they owe me a debt of gratitude because I was the one who won them that Super Bowl. It was all me.

You see, ordinarily, I cheer for both sides in spite of the fact that my husband tells me that's against the rules, it's not allowed, I have to choose a team. Usually, I distractedly watch football while flipping through a Williams-Sonoma catalog or dozing on the couch but this time, for the first time, I felt like I had a stake in the game and instead of hoping each and every fella on both teams did his very best and didn't embarass himself with a snafoo that would keep him awake at night, today I found myself telling the Saints "YOU MUST DEEEESSTTTRRROOOYYY THEM."

Long-time readers will know I grew up an hour or so from New Orleans. I love the city. I love its culture and music and history and houses. I made gumbo for game day. I thought discouraging thoughts towards the Colts. I didn't care whose feelings got hurt. The Saints had to win. They deserved to win. And they did.

No. No. Don't thank me. I was happy to do my part. O to be in New Orleans tonight, skipping down Bourbon Street with a drink in each hand.

On other fronts, hey look at these sweet little red wooden skis my mom got for me at the thrift store. Made in Norway. They're happily gracing my front porch next to an old pair of bamboo poles.

And hey, look at this chocolate cake I made today as a gumbo chaser:

It's named the Special Occasion Chocolate Cake, perhaps so that if someone should notice that a slice has nearly 1000 calories you can cut their protests off by saying, "LOOk at the title. It's for special occasions."

Occasions such as the Super Bowl.

It's three layers. In between two layers is milky chocolate frosting. In between the two other layers is a dark chocolate ganache frosting. The milk chocolate frosting is spread all over the top and sides and the ganache is then drizzled all over the top and down the sides. Almonds are sprinkled over the top.

Did I mention it won Grand Champion at the Alaska State Fair?

You need you some of this cake.

Special Occasion Chocolate Cake

Serves 12

• 1 cup baking cocoa
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2-1/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  GANACHE:
• 10 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 
  FROSTING:
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 
  GARNISH:
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

 

• In a small bowl, combine cocoa and water; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with cocoa mixture, beating well after each addition.
• Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• For ganache, place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small heavy saucepan over low heat, bring cream and sugar to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk gently until smooth. Refrigerate for 35-45 minutes or until ganache begins to thicken, stirring occasionally.
• For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth.
• Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with second layer and 1 cup ganache; sprinkle with 1/2 cup almonds. Top with third layer; frost top and sides of cake. Warm ganache until pourable; pour over cake, allowing some to drape down the sides. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Refrigerate until serving. 

thrift store scores / rhubarb cake

It's been awhile since I posted about my recent thrift store scores.

Exhibit A, an old-timey telephone desk that's now holding (big surprise) my phone, a vase of yellow lilies, and a candy dish. Old-timey desks scream out for candy dishes:

 

Should I paint it a fun color or leave it as is? When I spotted it at the thrift store I was on the fence on whether or not I should buy it, but then this other woman stopped to admire it, which of course made it seem that much more appealing to me. She wandered away undecidedly too, so I took the opportunity to swoop in, pay for it, and load it in the back of the wagon.

Exhibit B, a weathered old ladder that I'm gonna use as 'garden art' by stacking potted flowers on each rung:

 

I got some weathered old baskets at a thrift store yesterday and I plan to line those with moss then plant some annuals in them. I will be sure and post photos when that garden artwork installation is completed.

Exhibit C, a vintage pyrex baking dish that came with its own wooden-handled carrying stand:

 

Exhibit D, a cool enamel measuring cup:

 

I found it awhile back and forgot about it till I noticed it sitting in the backseat while I was waiting for my commuter van early one morning. I grabbed it and was admiring it anew. One of my fellow commuters was watching me from her car and when we climbed on the van she said to me: "That was a mighty big coffee cup you had there, Molly."

It's a four cup measuring cup, so yes it would be a rather large coffee cup and I doubt if I'd be able to sit still to write this post if I quaffed that much coffee each morning. Rather than correct her though, I just said, "Yep."

The measuring cup is holding chopped rhubarb for a simple and easy rhubarb cake -- I got the recipe at Painted Fish Studio, a blog I like to check in on once in awhile to get a fresh infusion of creativity.

We had ours with strawberry ice cream. Yum.

Painted Fish Rhubarb Cake

Makes a 9x13 inch cake to serve, gosh, alot of people.

Mix 4 cups of diced rhubarb with 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, place in a greased 9×13 pan. sprinkle with 1/4 cup brown sugar. add rhubarb mixture.

Mix 1 package yellow cake mix per directions, minus 1/4 water. pour over rhubarb.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, until batter pulls away from sides. let set 10 minutes.

Optional, depending on how quickly you want to eat rhubarb cake: place jelly roll pan on top of cake and turn over to remove cake. liquid may pour down the edges.

an exchange, bag art, and a cake, oh my!

Thing one:

Siri is having a farmer's market exchange that sounds like loads of fun. Check it out and sign up to exchange lots of local stuff from your favorite farmer's market. Sadly, I can't afford the outrageously-priced local veggies sold at farmers markets here but I betcha I can find something to fill a box that won't decompose by the time it reaches its recipient.

Thing two:

 

Friends came over for a dinner of strawberry margaritas, mojitos, and handmade pizza and they left behind this cool paper shopping bag -- a grocery store had stacks of them decorated by local school kids. Best school art project ever.

Thing three:

 

Applesause cake! With caramel frosting! In my new-to-me blue baking dish, scored yesterday at a thrift shop.

Two friends and I spent a marvelous day in Anchorage yesterday. We garage sailed first thing in the morning at an annual neighborhood garage sale that draws droves of bargain hunters each year. They bring in port-a-potties, each of which has a line a mile long! There were so many cars trying to get into the neighborhood that we parked a half-mile away and hiked in. We were patting each other on the backs over that smart move until I found a traveling sprinkler that I've had my eye on for quite some time. Good news: it cost a fraction of what I'd pay in a store for a new one. Bad news: it weighs a ton (cast iron will do that). I carried it till my vertebrae began to crowd together and I was an inch shorter, then I swore I'd buy the next thing I saw that rolled -- a wagon, a stroller, a suitcase. That's when I spotted the hand truck. Awesome.

We carted around all our scores on it -- an old orange wooden chair, a blender for making smoothies at work, a french press, some books (including a very old instructional manual called something like the Well-Bred Young Lady in Society -- now there's a blog waiting to happen because who couldn't use advice warning that a young man might invite you to the opera and then try to whisk you away from your chaperone?), and oh, so many other things.

We also stopped by the dump and got cheap composter bins being offered by the city.

I think the most interesting part of three women going garage sailing happens at the end of the trip when you stop to drop each woman off and her husband comes out to help unload garage sale scores from the bed of the pickup. They're a critical lot, those husbands. A sample exchange:

Husband: "Please tell me you didn't pay $5 for a rickety old orange chair?"

Wife: long pause and eye roll, then, "Okay. I didn't pay $5 for a rickety old orange chair."

She did, you know she did.

And we also stopped by Barnes and Noble for the bathroom and the bargain books. One of my purchases was a book I've always meant to buy -- Best Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Jars (love the back of the box recipes!), which brings me to the applesauce cake with caramel frosting pictured above. What's not to love about a moist and spicy sheet cake? Especially after a long day of shoppin' fun. On the couch. Feet up. Doors open to let in a little breeze. The late evening shine shining on the leafy trees outside. Heavenly.

Actually the book calls these Applesauce Bars and refers to them as cookies and makes them in a shallow jelly roll pan. So, cake or bar, it's your choice.

Applesauce Cake

Original recipe from Stokely-Van Camp

Makes a 10 x 15 inch sheet cake

Cake ingredients:

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 c sugar

1/4 t baking powder

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 t salt

3/4 t cinnamon

1/2 t cloves

1/2 t allspice

1/2 c vegetable shortening

1/2 c water

2 c apple sauce

1 egg

1/2 c chopped nuts

1 c raisins

Frosting Ingredients:

1/4 c butter

1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar

3 T milk

1 1/2 c or so powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 15 x 10 inch baking dish. Combine all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add shortening, water, applesauce, and egg. Beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Fold in nuts and raisins. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Make frosting: melt butter in a saucepan then add brown sugar and boil gently for one minute. Cool slightly then stir in milk. Gradually add powdered sugar until it's a nice spreading consistency. Frost cake -- it's okay to frost it while it's still warm. Dig in.