Pots Au Chocolat - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Recipe Card)

First post for 2014, well only 5 months late.  But let me make it up to you with Chocolate!

Crepes Au Mocha - 1970's (Robert Carrier Cookery Card)

There is nothing better, in my world, that coffee flavoured stuff.  And here is a fantastic little recipe for Coffee flavoured Crepes :) :)

School Cake 1920s (The Anerly Cookbook)

Here is a very basic cake recipe. I can imagine it would have plenty of scope for adding to or modifying.

1lb self raising flour
6ozs butter or lard
4ozs castor sugar
2ozs currants
2ozs sultanas
2ozs raisins, stoned and chopped
2 eggs, well beaten

Rub the butter or lard into the flour then add the other ingredients also a drop of milk if required.

Put in a well greased tin and bake for one and a half hours.

Marrow Pickle (1920s, The Anerly Cookbook)

4lbs of Vegetable Marrow
1/2oz of ground ginger
1/2oz mustard
3/4lb moist sugar
2ozs eschalots
9 small chillies
14 cloves
1/2oz tumeric
3pts vinegar

Cut the marrow in to 1/4 inch squares, put into a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave one night then strain.

Boil all other ingredients together for 10 minutes then put in the marrow and boil slowly until tender.

Moist Chocolate Sandwich - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Card Index 6)

Moist Chocolate Sandwich.  Very much a variation on a theme, but a quite delicious theme.  

Summer Pudding - 1960's (Robert Carrier Cookery Card)

Another amazingly easy recipe from the hayday of the Beatles...

This recipe is in anticipation that we might actually have a summer.  My mum always makes this recipe, and although the whole 'bread-as-pudding' concept is not one I can quite get my head around it is always enjoyable with lashings of custard.

New Acquisition. Robert Carrier - Cookery Cards

One of the best things about going to the Recycling Centre is having a look for old recipe books.  There are the usual mountains of Microwave Cookery books, stuff with pages stuck together and now and again you find a gem.

Pristene and un-used I found a set of Robert Carrier Cookery Cards!  Bargain at 50p

The Cakes, Sweets and Puddings cards have such classics as Summer Pudding, Bavarian Cream, Rice A La Royal, Fruit Medley and more.  I am dating this to the 60's as that is when he was most active with publishing books etc.

Who was Robert Carrier? I am far too lazy to write his obituary, which has been helpfully written here.  Thanks Telegraph!  To summarise though, he was one of the first celebrity chefs although known more for his flamboyant nature and dubbed one of London's Gayest Gourmet's.

He had a couple of Michelin Starred restaurants to his name, a cookery school and other interests which he gave up completely in 1982.  Later lived in Provence and painted. Alright for some?

Economical Light Fruit Cake - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Index Card 4)

I present most probably the easiest recipe ever.  If you are terrified of baking, this is a good place to start.

Fruit and Walnut Sponge - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Index Card 3)

I love Walnuts.  That is all.

Victoria Sandwich - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Index Card 2)

The Victoria Sponge or Sandwich, as it is referred to here.  See the previous post for the Chocolate Layer Sponge, which relies on this recipe for the basic sponge recipe.

The Victoria Sponge has a relatively unremarkable history, but it is the very notion of the British act of High Tea.  It is also a very difficult recipe to get truly perfect.

Chocolate Layer Sponge Cake - 1960's (Marguerite Patten Index, Card 1)

Seems to be the most logical idea really, start at the first card rather than pick random cards.  Further efforts to digitise the Marguerite Patten Cookery Card Index.

I did cave in and buy some more cookery cards today, but I'll whitter on about that in my next post.

This is a really basic sponge recipe.  But it opens itself for modification and 'jazzing up'.  I have to admit, this is a slightly pointless recipe unless you have all the cards lying around.  The Victorian Sponge recipe, is pretty basic anyway, but I might jump ahead and scan in Card 31 and Card 2, just to give my efforts some validity.

Roast Beef - 1970's (Marguerite Patten)

So you think you know how to Roast Beef?  You haven't Roasted nothing until you've done it Patten-style.

If you scour the internet, you can most probably find a recipe on how to do a good roast, however it doesn't say anything about how your mum would do a roast.

There are so many many variations on this classic, my Dad does it completely differently from my Mother-In-Law for instance.  But this, dear reader, is the control method.

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.

Apricot Croutes - 1950s

Ingredients.

1. Stale Cake
2. Tinned Apricots
3. 1 or 2 ounces of Butter
4. Castor sugar

Cut the cake into round or oval shapes about 1/4 inch thick, spread with butter and arrange into a greased fireproof dish.

Place one or two apricots, free from syrup, cut side up on each slice of cake. Sprinkle with sugar and bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes.

Sift more sugar over and serve hot.

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.

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

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.