Recipe Mutiny: Make your own McDonalds French Fries

Recipe Mutiny: Make your own McDonalds French Fries: My first post for a while in this blog, and we'll be looking at creating authentic McDonalds French Fries.  The recipe calls for Cris...

Valentine Special! Extra Rich Brandy Fudge - 1960's

Good old Marguerite Patten, she has a recipe for just about everything you can imagine.  And with Valentines Day looming over us like some heart shaped inevitable tsunami of soppyness and love, (read hatred and resentment for the single-and-proud types) the whole question about what to get your admired comes to mind.

Image taken from candyhero.com, go forth and drool as its an amazing website!

In my experience there is nothing better than a handmade token of love or gratitude, way above any bought chocolate.  So I give you a basic fudge recipe which is classed as 1960's as it comes from a book of that vintage, but its simply timeless.  Not only that but its also a damn bit cheaper.

If you just want to make Rich Vanilla Fudge you can replace the brandy with water.  Try a variation and add Apricot Brandy? What about Disaronno or even White Rum?  The possibilities are endless!

You will need:

1lb granulated sugar
1/2 pint cream
2oz butter
3 tablespoons brandy
half pint of milk
1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence or 1 vanilla pod

1. Put all the ingredients, including the vanilla essence or cut the vanilla pod, into a strong saucepan, this is very important because of the strong cream content.  Here I would recommend a non-stick pan of high quality.

2. Stir until sugar is thoroughly dissolved.

3. Boil steadily, stirring quite frequently, until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage.  This is a nicer fudge if rather soft so do not let it exceed 238F (best use a thermometer).  Take out the pod, rince under water and store in a jar of sugar.

4. Beat until slightly cloudy, pour into a well oiled or buttered tin.

5. Allow to set and cut into squares.

Bulgarian Peasants Daily Soup (1930s)

This recipe is taken from Recipes Rare from Everywhere, published in 1930 by Pauline Quirin Peto which I haven't really looked at properly.  It is available on Amazon and contains a whole load of weird and classic recipes.
It reminds me of the Peasants Revolt, cunningly I found a picture that depicted it, so here you go. Yeah, I know its an English thing, but you have to get in to the spirit!

So what do you need to tell that the Peasants are revolting? Boom boom.

Ingredients:
3 Pimentos
6 Tomatoes
4 Onions
2 Leeks
The hearts of 3 small cabbages
3 teacupfuls of haricot beansHerbs

The Haricot Beans need to have been cooked [boiled] the day before to the point of being nearly boiled enough but not quite.

1. Cut up all ingredients, not very fine (except the beans), add 3 or 4 spoonfuls of butter.  Let the mixture cook but not brown.

2. When the vegetables have begin to soften, pour 1 quart of any meat stock over them and let the mixture simmer for half an hour. Remove any scum.

3. Have a quantity of boiling water ready, just enough for six full plates of soup in a saucepan.

4. Stir in the mixture well and drop in the Haricot beans, 2 spoonfuls of tomato sauce and a teacupful of rice, already cooked.

5. Stir it up well and cook further for another quarter of an hour and serve hot with grated cheese.

Scotch Pancakes - 1920s

I am assuming that The Anerley Recipe Book from which I found this recipe is 1920s as I can't find an exact date!

It was compiled by Mrs G Wilson with this recipe simply coming from someone called MD.

Ingredients:
4ozs flour
2ozs sugar
4 ozs butter
2ozs ground rice

Method:
Cream the butter, add the rest of the ingredients and knead into a smooth paste.
Roll out and cut into rounds about 1/4 inch thick, bake in a slow oven for half an hour.

Slow oven? More than likely as around the 180 mark or even lower possibly.

Happy new year!!

Apologies to my long neglected followers and fans of Recipe Vintage. I have been on a bit of a hiatus over the holiday period, but will be back with some more fantastic recipes.

Baked Eggs Melange - 1980s

This time of year is definitely tomato time.  We, like many households across the nation have lots of organically grown, home seeded tomatoes that we've been given by friends and family, and also ones we've grown ourselves.  The common thing is to put them in salads or make them in to chutney, but this eighties recipe from my favourite Tomato themed cookbook  published in 1987, shows you something a bit unique you can do with your Tomatoes.



Melange means a blend or a mess, a cacophony, and this is very much the case.  For this recipe I would definitely recommend free-range organic eggs, as they have much more taste to them.  This recipe serves 8, and is originally made with a can of chopped tomatoes.  However it can easily be converted to use fresh ones.

You need:

12 hard-boiled eggs, shelled.
810g can of tomato pieces (or lots and lots of tomatoes).
120g butter
1 onion, chopped
1 capsicum pepper, seeded and chopped.
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
1 cup White Sauce (Schwartz mix is an easy option)
365g can champignons, chopped (mushrooms).
half a cup of breadcrumbs
half a cup of grated cheese
finely chopped parsley

1. Chop the eggs roughly.  Strain tomatoes, reserving the juice.  (If using fresh tomatoes it might be good to chop the tomatoes and scoop out the insides and use the insides for the juice.)

2. Melt half the butter in a pan and gently fry the onion, capsicumand celery until tender.  Add the flour and tomatoes stirring until the mixture thickens.  Add the reserved tomato juice and seasonings, then bring the liquid to the boil.  Stir in the White Sauce, chopped eggs and champignons.

3. Spoon the mixture in to individual serving dishes or an oblong cassorole dish, then top with breadcrumbs and dot with the remaining butter.

4. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 220C for 10 minutes or until brown and bubbling.  Sprinkle with grated cheese and parsley to serve.

Roman Wine-fried Anchovies

I've had a few requests for some ancient recipes, and luckily in my collection I have a reprint of the Roman Cookery of Apicius, translated and adapted for the modern kitchen by John Edwards.  This is a quick and easy one for you fish lovers.

You need:
6oz fresh anchovies
1 raw egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon of olive oil
quarter cup white wine
Quarter cup fish stock

Wash and trim anchovies and brush them with egg.  In the frying pan, heat olive oil with wine and stock added. When pan is very hot, add the anchovies and cook lightly. Serve with sprinkling of pepper.

Loganberry Wine - 1960's (possibly older)

Given Loganberrys are meant to be at their best about this time of year, I thought we'd do a seasonal wine today.

Loganberrys were discovered as a mistake when some raspberrys cross pollinated with a certain type of blackberry.  As a result they're a sort of super-blackberry, which is high in vitamin C and very tasty.  They also make a damn good wine, and if you happen to have 6lb of loganberry's lying around, this recipe that appears in the book '500 Recipes: Home-Made Wines and Drinks' by my favourite recipe lady Marguerite Patten which was published in 1963.


More than likely the recipe is older, but given the popularity of home-made wine and beers seem to come around in cycles I expect it will continue to be a home-brew favourite for years to come.  I am told by Google it is 'Refreshingly tart and fruity. Wonderful with fruit, cheese, nuts and smoked salmon' 

Recipe:
6lb loganberries
1 Gallon boiling water

To each gallon of water:
2.5 lb Sugar 1/4 oz of yeast

1. Put fruit into a container and pour over the water.
2. Mash firmly, pressing well to extract the juice and leave for 4 days to infuse.
3. Strain off liquid and measure.
4. Add sugar and yeast and leave in a warm place (65F to 75F) to ferment.
5. When bubbling ceases, stir well.
6. Leave for a further three days for the sediment to settle.
7. Strain through flannel or very thick muslin into a cask, filling this completely.  If not clear, see the instructions below
8. Cork and leave for 6 months.
9. Pour into bottles, cork and store in a cool dark place to mature for another few months at least.

My wine isn't clear? What should I do?
Marguerite has some instructions about what to do if your wine isn't clear.

"If, after straining, your wine does not look clear check carefully that you are using a fine enough filter.  It may well be that an extra two thicknesses of muslin, etc will immediately make a difference.
If, after fermentation and straining it is not clear, then you must use isinglass or egg white to ensure the wine is perfect to look at.  The white of one egg is sufficient for several gallons.  Whist it until firm, add to the wine in the container and leave for 24 hours.  You should then be satisfied with the result"
"It may well be that the haze or cloudiness in the wine is caused by the sediment which is disturbed by tipping the container when straining the wine.  This is why many people prefer to siphon rather than straining a wine.
There are actual faults in the wine that can cause a haze and this is a little difficult to rectify.  In a dry wine it may be because it is becoming a little vinegary, a condition which will get worse rather than better, so the wine must be used at once."

"In a sweet wine, it could be because the yeast in providing a special growth.  In this case the best solutions is to siphon the wine carefully into a new container, leaving the growth behind". 

Honey Cheesecake - 1970s

Last night I decided it would be a fantastic idea to take a photo of this recipe.  It was a fantastic idea, but, it didn't work as the photo came out far too small.

So here it is again, but this time done properly.

For a Honey Cheesecake you will need...

225g / 8oz Wholeweat Biscuits (digestives) crushed.
125g / 4oz melted butter
5ml / 1 teaspoon ground allspice
350g / 12oz cottage cheese
125g / 4oz clear honey
10ml / 2 teaspoons brown sugar
 2 eggs
pinch of salt
10ml / 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Mix the biscuits, butter and allspice together then press in to the bottom and sides of a well greased 23cm / 9 inch flan tin.
2. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
3. Mix all the remaining ingredients, except the cinnamon, together.  Spoon into the biscuit crust and dust with cinnamon.
4. Put in to a pre-heated oven at 170C / 325F and bake for 40 minutes or until filling is set

A little announcement....

A few changes to Recipe Vintage, aesthetically so far but there might be large changes over the horizon.  We're going for a handwriting look with some strong colours and strange fonts.  If you hate it, tell me and I'll change it.

Secondly, apologies for the failed Honey Cheesecake photo (below) will type it up soon I promise :)