Pickwick Fish Pie - 1970's (Marguerite Patten)

From my box of index cards by Marguerite Patten.

Pickwick Fish Pie works.  It is the closest to Fish that I really like with any great degree of enthusiasm.

Florentine Ring (Fish) - 1970s

It looks like a burnt curry, and its the latest card from that massive cardex that I acquired a few weeks ago.  Florentine is the name given to any dish that is paired with spinach, in this case its not obvious that this is a fish dish, but it is.

It has a cooking time of 1 hour, and will take 25 minutes to prepare.  Best to have an 8 inch ring tin handy and a sauce pan, and pre-heat your oven to 350f which is 180c.  Out of this recipe you'll get enough to serve three greedy gannets or six smallish portions.

2lb/1kg Fresh Spinach

White Sauce:
2 oz/50g butter
2 oz/50g flour
half a pint/275ml milk
seasoning
3 egg yolks
good pinch of nutmeg

Filling: 
1lb/0.5kg fish fillets
half a pint/275ml milk
2 oz/50g butter
2 oz/50g flour
3-4 oz/75-100g grated cheese
seasoning

Garnish:
1oz/25g grated cheese and tomatos

1. Cook spinach in a very little salted water.  Drain well and chop.

2. Make a thick white sauce in the usual way. (not sure how to make white sauce? see http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/whitesauce_1298)

3. Stir in the egg yolks and nutmeg.  Add the spinach, season well and blend thoroughly.

4. Pour in to greased ring tin.

5. Stand in a tin of water, bake until firm - 40 to 45 minutes.

6. Meanwhile simmer the fish in milk until cooked.  Drain and use liquid to make a white sauce with the butter and flour.

7. Season and stir in grated cheese.

8. When spinach ring is cooked, turn on to warm plate.

TO SERVE:
Fill centre of ring with flaked fish and pour over the cheese sauce.  Sprinkle with grated cheese and garnish with sliced tomatos.

Wimbledon Cake - 1950's

Here is one for cake lovers who have just discovered that the milk has gone off.  It is from Farmhouse Fare, so its a bit short on description but it sounds awesome.



1lb flour
1/2 lb butter
1/2 lb sugar
1/2 lb currants
2 ozs chopped candied peel
1 teaspoonful mixed spice
1/2 pint sour milk
1 teaspoonful bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoonful of syrup

1. Rub the butter into the flour then add sugar, currants, peel, and spice.
2. Warm the syrup and stir it into the milk, now add the soda and mix altogether.
3. Pour into a greased tin in a moderate oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Southern Casserole - 1960's

This is one of Marguerite Patten's classics from 500 Recipes for Suppers and Snacks.  A really hearty sixties meal with a lot of easy-to-obtain ingredients.
It is a little odd, with processed cheese consisting as one of the main ingredients.  Most probably something to stay away from if you don't like cheese.


8 small cocktail sausages
3 oz elbow spaghetti
1 creamed corn on the cob
1 oz butter
seasoning
6 - 8 oz of processed cheese

1. Grill fry or bake the sausages. Keep hot until needed later.
2. Cook the spaghetti until tender.
3. Strain and mix with the creamed corn on the cob and the butter
4. Season well/
5. Put a layer at the bottom of a casserole, cover with a layer of processed cheese, then a layer of corn on the cob mixture.
6. Top with a thick layer of cheese.
7. Cook for 15 minutes in a moderately hot oven, (400F - 425F, GM 5-6) until cheese melts.
8. Arrange sausages on top.

Peanut Butter Toffee - 1960's

This is one of those 'I-would-love-to-try-this-recipe-if-I-had-a-metabolism-higher-than-Everest' recipes.  It is a complete treat, one of those things that you just have to try to say that you've done it.

Once you've made your Toffee, storing it might be an issue, so make sure you have plenty of wax paper or try individually wrapping them.  Personally I would let it set in a slab or try and pour it in to a slab mould of some sort.

1lb sugar, preferably Demerara
3oz peanut butter
1/3 pint of water
1 1/2 oz of butter
2 level teaspoons of golden syrup
1 teaspoon vinegar

1. Put all the ingredients into a strong saucepan and stir over a steady heat until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Bring to the boil and cook until the mixture reaches the 'hard crack' stage 290F.
3. Drop in teaspoonfuls on to a buttered or oiled tin and either allow to set as a slap or mark in to squares as the toffee becomes partially set.  Then cut or break when completely set.

Lemon Layer Cake - 1930's

Throughout my research and discovery of vintage classic recipes, I have found quite a few badly written recipes.  I have avoided them as they are harder for my readers to work out, and they are not overly helpful.  They assume you know a lot about the cooking process, so they seem to be less a recipe as such, moreso a quick reminder for someone that has done them countless times before.
I am sticking my neck out with this one, as the recipe is short and it has a lot of 'cupfuls' which I often find off putting.  I would love to know if someone has made lemon cheese before and what it tastes like, it sounds more like icing that cheese to be honest.


2 1/4 quarter cupfuls sifted flour
1 egg
1 cupful of milk
1/4 cupful of melted butter
4 teaspoonfuls of baking power
3/4 cupful caster sugar
1/2 teaspoonful of salt
1 teaspoonful vanilla essence
lemon cheese. (recipe for lemon cheese can be found here)

1. Add the sugar to the well beaten-egg, then stir in alternately the milk and flour sifted with the baking powder and salt.
2. Add the melted butter and vanilla, beating well.
3. Bake in two buttered layer cake tins in a moderately quick oven for about half an hour until quite firm and light.
4. When cold, put layers together with lemon cheese.

Sea Kale with Melted Butter Sauce - 1930's

There is a recipe for this on the BBC website that one of the Master Chef programmes, but the principles don't appear to have changed much.  Despite its name it is not Sea Weed and shouldn't be muddled up with Sea Kelp.

Sea Kale isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but it goes really nicely with melted butter much the same way that melted butter goes with toast.  This dish would be perfect as an a partner with meat or even just on its own as a nutricious vegetarian meal.  Replace the butter with dairy free butter for a vegan alternative.

Quarter of a pound of Butter
1 oz flour
Half a teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and White Pepper
Three quarters of a pint of water

1. Wash and rinse the sea kale thoroughly to remove the grit.  Cut away any brown or discolored parts.
2. Tie the heads up into small bundles with tape and put them into a basin of cold water until wanted.
3. Have a saucepan of boiling salted water, sufficient to cover the Sea Kale well, and put two table spoonfuls of vinegar into the water.
4. Put in the Sea Kale, and boil until it is quite tender-this will take about 20 minutes.  Lift out the bundles into a strainer, drain well, and remove the tapes.
5. Lay the Sea Kale in a hot vegetable dish and pour the following sauce over.

The Sauce

1/4 lb butter
1 oz, flour
1/2 teaspoonful Lemon Juice
Salt and White Pepper
1/4 pint water.

1. Melt half the butter in a saucepan, add flour and mix with a wooden spoon. until quite smooth.
2. Add bit by bit, three quarters of a pint of boiling water, stirring all the time.
3. Cook the sauce for a few minutes then add lemon juice.
4. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.  Finally, add the remainder of the butter in small pieces.  Pour the sauce over the Sea Kale and serve.

Marguerite Patten's Mushroom Fingers - 1970's

This is essentially Mushroom on Toast.  So, Fungi Bruschetta for the posh amongst us.

8 oz. mushroom
Third of a pint of milk
1 oz flour
1 oz butter
Seasoning
Dash of Worcester Sauce
Little parsley chopped
4 slices of buttered toast

1. Wash and chop mushroom caps and stalks coarsely.
2. Simmer in the milk until tender.
3. Blend flour and butter together and work into mushroom mixture gradually.
4. Cook gently for some little time until smooth.
5. Season well, add sauce and parsley.
6. Spread on toast and divide into fingers.

Cornish Potato Cake

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This is a tradtional Cornish recipe.  For this you will need:

Half a pound of boiled potatoes.
Half an ounce of butter.
2 oz. flour
Pinch of salt.

1.  Mash the boiled potatoes while hot with the butter and mix well together.

2. Add salt and sprinkle in the flour mixing evenly.

3. Roll out  very thin on a floured board and cut out in rounds about the size of a saucer.

4. Place on a hot griddle or greased frying pan.

5. Stab with fork and cook three minutes on each side.  Serve hot.

Stelk (A Traditional Irish Recipe)

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For this traditional Irish side dish, adapted from Farmhouse Fare you need:

2 dozen of the later spring onions. (Those which are too coarse to use otherwise, are best for this dish but normal ones are acceptable).
Potatoes
Milk

You can use chives for this dish as an alternative.

1. Chop the onions into small lengths and simmer in milk until tender.

2. Boil or steam a good dish of potatoes. (1 lb possibly?)

3.  When cooked, mash them with a little milk and strain the onions and add these to the potatoes mixing well.  Serve very hot.

4. Add a large piece fresh butter (Clover or organic butter possibly?) to each plate that the Stelk is to be served on.

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Lemon Curd Dumplings

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4 oz. Shredded suet
8 oz. flour and salt mixed with some cold water.
2 eggs well beaten
1 teacupful of castor sugar
1 large or two small lemons, the juice and rind of.
2 oz. fresh melted butter.

These dumplings should be made in small individual moulds to prevent any water getting in to spoil lemon curd centres.

1. Well grease some small moulds and line with thinly rolled suet pastry made with 4 oz. shredded suet, 8 ozs. flour, salt and mixed with cold water.

2. Make a curd filling by well beating 2 eggs and adding 1 teacupful castor sugar, juice and grated rind of the lemons and the melted butter.

3. Whip all together and nearly fill each dumpling.

4. Cover tops with a lid of pastry making sure you squeeze the edges together well.

5. Tie over with greased paper and steam for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Turn out carefully and sift with a little fine sugar and serve hot.

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Lamb With Rice

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1 Breast of Lamb
2 oz. Butter
1 Onion
8 oz. Rice
1 oz. Raisins
2 Beef Extract Cubes (OXO or Knorr will do)
2 Pints of water
8 oz. Tomatoes
salt and pepper

1. Cut the lamb into pieces and trim off excess fat.

2. Melt 1 oz. butter in a saucepan.

3. Chop the onion and cook with the meat in the butter for a few minutes.

4. Cover with water, bring to the boil and crumble in the beef extract cubes.

5. Reduce the heat and allow the meat to cook until tender which should be for about 1 hour.

6. In another pan, melt 1 oz. of butter and cook the rice for a few minutes

7. Add raisins, chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook gently for 15 minutes.

8. Strain over the stock from the meat.

9. Strain off any liquid and serve.

This recipe is worded in the book quite confusingly and I have tried to re-word it accurately.  If you have any idea what they mean, or have any success with this dish please contact me and I will amend this recipe.

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One Stage Chocolate Cake

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4 oz.  luxury margarine or organic butter
4 oz.  sieved self-raising flour
5 oz. castor sugar
1 heaped teaspoon of sieved cocoa
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of milk

For the filling:

2 oz. Plain Chocolate
2 oz. luxury margarine or organic butter
2 dessert spoons of hot water
1 oz. castor sugar
1 dessert spoon of milk

 

1. Mix ALL cake ingredients quickly in a mixing bowl

2. Beat well with a wodden spoon for one to two minutes.

3. Put mixture into two 7-inch sandwich tins greased with margarine and the bottom lined with greaseproof paper.

4. Smooth tops and bake in the middle of a moderate oven 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool on a cake rack.

Filling

1. Melt chocolate carefully over hot water (don't let it get hot) then cool it slightly.

2. Whisk margarine, chocolate and castor sugar in a small bowl for one to two minutes.

3. Add water, then milk, then whisk.  Sandwich cakes together with chocolate filling.  Dust top with sugar.

 

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