Softcover, 7.5"w x 9.25"h, 110 pages
Compiled and edited by Jeffrey Buck
Published: September, 2003
Wire-O binding allows book to lay flat when open
Includes 3+ Index pages, with more than 260 entries
In 1889 the ARBUCKLE BROTHERS COFFEE COMPANY produced a series of advertising cards, commonly referred to as "trade cards", consisting of 50 different Subjects on Cooking. One 3" x 5" card was inserted into each 1-lb. bag of Arbuckles' ARIOSA brand coffee as a special reward for loyal consumers who chose ARIOSA over one of those other, inferior, brands of coffee.
Included on the back of each card was a selection of COOKING NOTES appropriate to the theme of the vignette shown on the front, which may be an animal, fish, fowl, fruit, vegetable, beverage, etc. This book includes every one of those approximately 160 recipes, along with black-and-white images of all 50 cards.
The Victorian-era recipes gleaned from these cards are at once fascinating, simplistic, challenging and, in many cases, not for the faint of heart! In that spirit, I present this cookbook as more of an amusing historical curiosity than as a likely blueprint for tonight's dinner!
Whether you're an Arbuckle trade card collector, an adventurous cook who can't resist a good challenge, or a culinary historian, this book will make a nice addition to your library. Or, if you happen to know any of those "masters of the kitchen" who can't resist demonstrating their culinary skills at the drop of a spatula, try presenting them with this collection of 126-year-old recipes and see what happens!
BON APPETIT!
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SAMPLE RECIPES
CHICKEN CROQUETTES — Cut in small pieces, or pound together in a mortar, one boiled chicken and two sweetbreads. Brown a small onion in butter, and when yellow add a tablespoonful of flour; stir together for a few seconds; thin with the broth in which the chicken was boiled, or enough cream to make the mixture of the consistency of soft custard, and season to taste with salt and pepper; take out the onion and stir the mixture on the fire for ten minutes, adding a little nutmeg, red pepper, and some fine chopped parsley; stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs, and let all boil up, stirring well all the time. Put in the chopped meat, and as soon as the eggs are creamy take all from the fire and allow it to cool. When cold, shape with the hand dipped in beaten egg, then in cracker crumbs, and fry to a good brown color in boiling lard.
EXCELSIOR BREAD — Six o’clock p.m. is early enough to start bread. For four loaves, take a quart and a half of water hot enough to bear your finger in, but not enough to scald the flour, one tablespoonful of salt, flour to make a thick batter, and one large cup of yeast. Cover and let stand in a warm place over night. Stir in a scant half cup of sugar; then mix in the flour a little at a time till you can knead it without its sticking to the dish, always keeping the sides of the dish free of pieces of dough. Cover it up and let it rise again. Then knead, make into loaves, put into tins, prick all over with a fork, and let them rise until, in lifting the tin, their weight is light; bake in a moderate oven an hour; put on a cloth, in a cool place, without covering, and the crust will be soft.
LEMON PUDDING — Wash half a pound of butter till all the salt is extracted, then mix it well with half a pound of powdered white sugar and a wine-glass of brandy (wine may be used, but it is not as good); grate the rinds of three ordinary size lemons, squeeze their juice; stir them into the butter and sugar, after which add the prepared lemons. Lay a border of puff paste around the pudding dish, then bake from half to three-quarters of an hour. Serve it cold, and grate over it white sugar mixed with a little nutmeg. The latter ingredient, however, is not generally preferred.
