Apple Tansy (1950s)

Apples are my favourite fruit.  I am sorry but a banana doesn't hold it for me and there are so many varieties to choose from.  If you travel back fifty or sixty years ago however there were countless different varieties, even more than today but many have become extinct down to neglect and the commercial homogeneity of the cider industry in the eighties and nineties.

About.com has a whole bunch of information about Apples as I am more interested in what you do with them once you get them.

They feature quite heavily in vintage cooking given their ease of growth and availability.

So what is an Apple Tansy? It is essentially a sweet omlette.  As with most things, there are many different takes on this recipe, but this take is provided by Farmhouse Fare being contributed by Kathleen Thomas.

You will need:

3 large apples
Sugar to taste
1 pint of milk
3 eggs
A little mixed Spice
1 cupful of fine breadcrumbs

1. Peel and slice the apples, cook gently in a little butter until soft and pour into a greased fireproof dish.
2. Beat the eggs and add them to the milk, sweeten to taste and add a pinch of the mixed spice and the nutmeg.
3. Pour the mixture over the breadcrumbs and beat lightly then pour the mixture over the apples and bake very slowly till set.

There isn't any indication about what temperature you should cook it at so your guess will be the right one.

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.

Aristocrat Sparkling Punch - 1950's

So last night, I sat down to write up this recipe in to my steaming blog-pot of recipes and felt that engulfing feeling of numbness overcome me completely.  So tonight, with a bit more energy I bring you a 1950's dinner party favourite.
I have neglected cocktails on this blog because they're not edible, but when I started this blog I had themed parties in the back of my mind.  So here is a little party favourite to think about for the weekend, and yes I know it is only Tuesday but let us look ahead.

1 bottle of burgandy
4 ounces brandy
1 quart sparkling water
2 bottles of champagne
1 cup cube sugar

1. Dissolve sugar in a cup of sparking water and pour into punch bowl.
2. Add burgandy and brandy, stirring well.  Place a block of ice in the bowl and add champagne and the balance of sparkling water.
3. Garnish the top of iceblock with strawberries or raspberries, or other fruit in season and float thin slices of two oranges on top of punch.

Fig Parkin Gingerbread - 1950's

Figs are nice but not common.  If you can get your hands on some, then here is a little recipe that'd make a nice tea accompaniment or a quick fix for gingerbread-heads.

6 ozs. self raising flour
2 ozs. margarine
2 ozs. oatmeal
1 oz. sugar
4 ozs. figs
1 egg
1 teaspoonful of ground ginger
2 tablespoonfuls of syrup
Pinch of salt
little milk

1. Sift flour and salt into a bowl.  Rub in the marge, add sugar, ginger, oatmeal and chopped figs.
2. Melt syrup and add with beaten egg and milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
3. Turn into greased and lined tin and bake in a moderately hot oven for about 1.5 hours.

Green Pea Cakes - 1950's

This recipe might be a lot older than 1950s.  It sounds delicious, and is an old Scottish recipe.  It involves pushing pease through a sieve, so make sure its a metal one.

The recipe comes from a book called The Scottish Cookery Book, by Elizabeth Craig.  Nowhere does it say to make them in to patties.  Do you cook it all in one or in small bits? What shape?
Again a really nice recipe but let down by a badly written methodology.  I would recommend cooking them in patties, it'll help cook even all the way through.


2 cups cooked dried peas
1 teaspoon butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 well-beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 lb flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Rub peas while hot through a sieve.  Mix with the butter, salt pepper and eggs.
2. Beat well, stir in the flour sifted with baking powder.
3. Fry in rounds dropped from a jug into a frying pan containing enough hot fat to cover bottom of pan till bubbles form on top, then turn and fry on other side.  Serve with fried sausages for breakfast.

Fish in Dark Beer

Another dinner party favourite from the fifties.  This dish ripe for modification and some experimentation, try choosing different types of beer and vinegar to use.

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3 lbs of Fish (carp, pike or bass)
1 tablespoon of vinegar
2 chopped onions
4 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
5 whole peppers
2 ground cloves
1 teaspoon of Worcester Sauce
1 pint of Dark Beer (locally produced craft beer/real ale/stout maybe?)

1. Prepare the fish by cleaning it and scaling cutting it in to three inch slices.

2. Brown the onion in the butter, adding the flour and cook for three minutes.

3.  Add the beer and all other ingredients except the vinegar.

4.  Boil the sauce to the thickness of single cream.

5. Add the fish slices to the sauce, and continue boiling until the fish is well done.

6.  Finally add the vinegar and continue boiling for another two minutes.  Pour the sauce through a strainer and serve separately.

Related articles

• Shrimps In Beer (recipevintage.wordpress.com)


• Chicken Mischief (recipevintage.wordpress.com)

Chocolate Iced Cherry Cake

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This is a traditional classic, Chocolate Cherry cake.  No frills, nothing too fancy and a fifties/sixties classic.

4 oz. whipped fat (margarine or butter?)
4 oz. castor sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
6 oz. Self Raising Flour
4 tablespoons of Milk
quarter of a teaspoon of salt
6 oz. mixed dried fruit
2 oz. glace cherries (cut in half)
1 oz. finely cut angelica
1 oz. chopped walnuts

Decoration
8 oz. icing sugar
glace cherries
walnuts
Egg Whites

1.  Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix for 1 minute and turn in to a greased 7 inch cake tin.

2. Bake in a moderate oven for about 1 hour

To decorate

Beat together the egg whites and icing sugar until it stands up in peaks.  Spread over cake, decorate with walnuts and cherries.

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• One Stage Chocolate Cake (recipevintage.wordpress.com)

Chicken Mischief

This recipe would work great with a pre-roasted chicken you get from the supermarket.

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1 roasting chicken
2 tomatoes
2 tablespoons of oil
2 level tablespoons of honey
quarter pint of stock
1 level tablespoon of cornflour
4 oz. dripping
2 onions
2 tablespoons of pickle
3 tablespoons soya sauce
2 tablespoons vinegar
4 tablespoons water

1. Melt the dripping, joint the chicken and fry gently until well cooked and golden brown.

2. Skin and chop the tomatoes and onions.

3. Heat oil and fry tomatoes, onion and pickle for 5 minutes.

4. Add stock, soy sauce, honey and vinegar and bring to the boil.

5. Simmer for 10 minutes.  Blend cornflour with the water and add to the sauce.

6. Bring to the boil stirring.  Serve the chicken and pour sauce around.

Alternatively serve sauce and chicken separately using your fingers to eat chicken and dip with sauce.

Shrimps In Beer

This is a classic fifties seafood starter

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.

4 Cups of beer
3 shallots
2 onions sliced
5 tbsp. butter
2 pounds of raw shrimps
a Sprig parsley in a bouquet
Bayleaf
Celery
5 tablespoons flour
1. Cook the beer with the onions, shallots, bayleaf, parsley and celery for about 15 minutes.

2. Add peeled shrimps to the broth and cook for another 15 minutes then season with salt and pepper.

3.  Remove the Parsley bouquet and bind sauce with the butter and flour which have been creamed together.

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• Planet Hollywood Thai Shrimp Pasta (ownchef.wordpress.com)