It didn’t.

Around 6:00, the dough had finally risen.

Punched down and shaped before resting for 15 minutes.

Dough cut into four . . . → Read More: Let Us Make Bread Together (On Our Knees) Part 2]]>

When we left my bread making adventure the other day, we wondered whether the bread would continue to rise enough for us to have it with dinner that night.

It didn’t.

Around 6:00, the dough had finally risen.

Punched down and shaped before resting for 15 minutes.

Dough cut into four loaves.

I tucked them all into their respective loaf pans and covered them with their plastic wrap blankets. The Mister said it looked like a nursery. We waited. And we waited. Finally around 11:00 they had doubled in size. I forgot to take a photo before putting them in the refrigerator. I was tired and wasn't going to stay up to bake bread. I'm not THAT dedicated!

The poor guys didn't like being in the fridge. They got all shrivelly. I took them out to bring them back to room temperature. In theory, it should just take a couple of hours for it to come to room temperature and the yeast be all happy and gassy again. So, I took them out at 7:30 in the morning and it took until almost 5:00 for them to get back to baking condition. *sheesh!* Good thing I wasn't in a hurry or anything!

Still not as high as I would have liked but they were going in! The one on the right was our little runt loaf. He was The Mister's favorite.

Forty-five minutes later, not perfect looking but everyone was happy and the house smelled fabulous!

Dumped out of their pans.

Cooling their heels.

It was worth the wait. The time in the refrigerator acted as a yeast retarder so that would have more time to do something or another with the net result of a tangier flavor. Perfect!

New Year’s Day is just a few days away.  About 20 years ago, I learned of the Southern tradition of serving Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day to bring good luck.  What I’ve learned over the years is that there are about as many versions of Hoppin’ John as . . . → Read More: Modern Retro Recipe: Hoppin’ John]]>

Modern Retro Recipes Winter Edition!

New Year’s Day is just a few days away.  About 20 years ago, I learned of the Southern tradition of serving Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day to bring good luck.  What I’ve learned over the years is that there are about as many versions of Hoppin’ John as there our regions in the South.

This recipe, included in the Winter Edition of the Modern Retro Recipes eNewsletter, is adapted from two New Year’s Day recipes in the United States Regional Cookbook, published in 1939.  One recipe, called “Hopping John,” is made from red cow peas, rice, and salt pork.  The other is called “Hog Jowl and Black-Eyed Peas” and is made up of just those two ingredients plus water.

Since I’m not sure I even WANT to buy a hog jowl, I use ham hocks instead.  I also add chopped onion and some pepper flakes for a bit of a kick that the original recipes don’t use.

Click here to download a free copy of the recipe in PDF format for your Modern Retro Recipes notebook: Hoppin’ John

For more great winter recipes, visit the Modern Retro Recipes eNewsletter page!

The December/January issue of Modern Retro Recipes contains nineteen pages of retro and vintage recipes with photos and step by step directions!   I once again delve into my grandmother’s green recipe box for many of the recipes in this issue.  There are a few holiday oriented recipes but most can be enjoyed all winter long.

Note: I know the formatting is wonky.  I’ve just spent the past 15 minutes trying to fix it.  There are just some days when the blog has a mind of its own…

Hoppin' John

Hoppin’ John

Ingredients

1 pound package of black-eyed peas
3 pound ham hock, cut crosswise by butcher
1 medium onion, chopped
Pepper flakes, to taste
1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain brown rice

Method

Soak beans according to package directions.

Add ham hock and onion to the rehydrated beans.

Add enough water to cover.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook until beans and  are tender and the meat is falling off of the bone, about 2 hours.

Remove meat from bone, chop and return to pot.

Add  rice and continue cooking for another hour.

Add pepper flakes to taste and serve.

Pumpkin Pecan Pie by Mrs. Myron Leitz

I love pumpkin pie. Well, homemade pumpkin pie. I usually end up disliking the pumpkin pies that I order at a restaurant. And the frozen pies? *phhht* Why bother?

My . . . → Read More: From the Archives: Pumpkin Pecan Pie {Vintage Recipe}]]>

This vintage recipe for pumpkin pecan pie was originally posted exactly two years ago, November 11, 2009.

Pumpkin Pecan Pie by Mrs. Myron Leitz

I love pumpkin pie. Well, homemade pumpkin pie. I usually end up disliking the pumpkin pies that I order at a restaurant. And the frozen pies? *phhht* Why bother?

My Honey loves pecan pie. He tells me not to bake any pecan pies for him because it would be too tempting. But, whenever we are out and he spies a pecan pie in the pie safe, I know he’s going to order a slice.

Leave it to one of my grandmother’s cousins and The Box to come up with a variation of our two favorite pies: A Pumpkin Pecan Pie.

I must confess that this didn’t have as much pumpkin flavoring as I would have liked but My Honey really liked it and it will probably join the dessert rotation.

Watch your baking time. Mine burnt a little but I don’t know if it was the recipe or that I was having trouble with my oven again (my landlord thought that having the regulator repaired, yet again, was too annoying and a new range arrived on Monday).

Pumpkin Pecan Pie by Mrs. Myron Leitz, Topeka

Combine the first 7 ingredients, pour into unbaked pastry shell. Top with pecans. Bake at 350* F. about 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

This beef roll has all of the flavor of my favorite pizzas without all of the after effects.  It hits the spot for dinner and it pretty . . . → Read More: Modern Retro Recipe: Polpettone alla Siciliana (Sicilian Beef Roll)]]>

I found this recipe in an international meat cookbook published in 1967.  I’ve discovered that starchy food and I don’t get along but I sure miss my pizzas!

This beef roll has all of the flavor of my favorite pizzas without all of the after effects.  It hits the spot for dinner and it pretty darn good as a cold lunch, too!

No need to get fancy with this recipe.  I just used packaged uncured ham and packaged mozzarella cheese from Trader Joe’s.

Click here to download a free copy of the recipe in PDF format for your Modern Retro Recipes notebook:  Sicilian Beef Roll

Click here to visit the Modern Retro Recipes eNewsletter chock full of Thanksgiving recipe ideas!

Polpettone alla Siciliana

(Sicilian Beef Roll)

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons dried minced parsley
8 slices cooked ham (approximately)
8 slices mozzarella cheese (approximately)

Method

Mix everything but the ham and cheese together.

On a large sheet of plastic wrap, pat the meat mixture into a rectangle about 10 x 16 inches.

Arrange the ham and cheese on it and then roll up like a jelly roll, using the plastic wrap to help guide the roll.

Place the roll into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake in 350ºF. oven for 1 hour.

Let the roll stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing it.

Enjoy!

I was looking through my vintage cookbooks for a fun Halloween dessert (that didn’t involve a pumpkin) for the Modern Retro Recipes eNewsletter’s holiday edition when I came across these adorable guys.  Using oranges instead of pumpkins, you create little jack-o-lanterns cloves, licorice, and maraschino cherries and fill them . . . → Read More: Modern Retro Recipe: Goblin Frosties]]>

Modern Retro Recipes Holiday Edition!

I was looking through my vintage cookbooks for a fun Halloween dessert (that didn’t involve a pumpkin) for the Modern Retro Recipes eNewsletter’s holiday edition when I came across these adorable guys.  Using oranges instead of pumpkins, you create little jack-o-lanterns cloves, licorice, and maraschino cherries and fill them with lime sherbert.

Click here to download a free copy of the recipe in PDF format for your Modern Retro Recipes notebook: Goblin Frosties

For more great holiday recipes, visit the Modern Retro Recipes eNewsletter page!

The October/November issue of Modern Retro Recipes contains twenty pages of retro and vintage recipes with photos and step by step directions!  I give a nod to Halloween with adorable Goblin Frosties but most of the other recipes are geared toward traditional Thanksgiving gatherings.  That said, I have included a delicious alternative to cooking a monstrous sized turkey.  Sometimes we need to start new traditions, too!

Goblin Frosties

Ingredients
4 medium oranges
2-3 Licorice whips, cut into 1/4” pieces
Whole cloves
1 to 1 1/2 quarts lime sherbet
4 maraschino cherries with stems

Method

With a sharp knife, cut off thin slice of peel from bottom of orange to enable it to stand firmly.

Slice off enough to make the orange stand on its own.

For the hat, cut off anywhere from 1/4 to 1/3 from the top of the orange.

Slice off the top to make the hat

With spoon, scoop out pulp and membrane from the orange (this is easier with a fruit spoon).

Scoop out the orange and membrane

Using a toothpick, poke holes in the peel where you will want the mouth and nose to go.  Stick the cloves in the holes you just made.

Poke holes in the peel with toothpick and insert whole cloves

With the point of a paring knife, cut two holes for the eyes.  Carefully insert the cut licorice whips into the holes you just made.

Carefully cut out holes for the eyes.

Fill oranges with sherbet, mounding it above the rim.

Add lime sherbet

Place the lid atop the sherbet at a fun angle. Attach maraschino cherry through each lid and into the sherbet with a toothpick (which also acts an anchor for the lid).

Add the maraschino cherry with a toothbook and anchor cap to goblin

Keep frozen until ready to serve.

They look so cute hanging out in the freezer! Little do they know the fate that awaits them!

Outtakes!

When I was doing the photo shoot for this recipe…or, I should say, I was attempting to do the photo shoot…it was over 100F degrees outside and not much cooler inside.  The poor goblins were having a hard time holding their sherbet….

I knew I was in trouble when a couple of them started to cry...

I felt so cruel!

I stuck them  in the freezer and we tried it again a few days later.  They were much, much happier, then (until they found out about the horror that awaited them…we won’t discuss that…).

Betty Crocker’s You Share cookbook with “52 menus, 226 recipes, and 369 hints on food buying, preparation, meal planning, and serving” was published . . . → Read More: Tonight’s Dinner: Pinwheel Meat Roll {Vintage Recipe}]]>

Note: This recipe was originally posted on May 14, 2010.  It is so good, I had to share it with you again!  We are having this for dinner tonight. Yum!

Betty Crocker’s You Share cookbook with “52 menus, 226 recipes, and 369 hints on food buying, preparation, meal planning, and serving” was published in 1943 to help women cope with food rationing during World War II. “Betty” tells us that we have to make a little do where there was an abundance before…we must prepare satisfying meals out of our share of what is available. And so, the cookbook starts out with how to stretch meat to make the most of it. With her help, we are able to serve four or five people with one pound of ground beef (7 points versus the 12 points it takes to buy a 1 pound porterhouse steak that only feeds 2 or 3 people) The Pinwheel Meat Roll is supposed to serve six people with one pound of meat. I’m here to tell you that those six people must be eating giant servings because we usually get about 8-9 servings out of it. I love this dish. It isn’t a “prepare in 15 minutes” dish but it can be prepared and refrigerated on a Sunday evening to be popped into the oven on a Monday.

Pinwheel Meat Roll

• To prepare Golden Filling, cooked the onion and celery in the butter until yellow.

• While the onions and celery are cooking, mix together the meat roll ingredients in a medium size bowl. I find that mixing the ingredients with my hands does the best job of incorporating everything (even though it does make me a bit squeamish).

• Place the meat mixture between two pieces of plastic wrap (wax paper will work and is in the original recipe but it has a tendency to tear and it is a pain picking little pieces of paper out of the roll). Using a rolling pin, roll into an oblong shape about 1/4″ thick.

• Add the cooked carrots and 1/4 tsp. salt to the onion and celery mixture for the filling.

• Remove the top layer of plastic wrap (or waxed paper). Spread with Golden Filling.

• Roll up as if you were making a jelly roll. It helps to lift it up using the plastic wrap and then pulling the wrap away as you roll the meat roll into shape.

• Chill (I usually skip this step).
• Bake in an 8 x 12″ inch pan, uncovered, 1 hour in a moderate oven (350º F).

“Betty” suggests serving it with gravy or a creamy sauce or a creamed vegetable. I don’t think it needs gravy or a creamy sauce when it is first served. However, if you serve it again as a “planned over,” you made need to add a little chili sauce–ketchup with a kick–to keep it moist.

Added bonus: My Honey enjoys having it cold in a meatloaf sandwich the next day or two. Enjoy!

We had these the other night and they are just so good that I had to share the recipe with you again.  This article was originally posted on July 12, 2010.

*****

The more I learn how to eat like my grandmother, the more I am amazed at . . . → Read More: From the Archives: Deviled Beef Patties {Recipe}]]>

Hamburger Press: So Simple, Yet Efficient

We had these the other night and they are just so good that I had to share the recipe with you again.  This article was originally posted on July 12, 2010.

*****

The more I learn how to eat like my grandmother, the more I am amazed at the portion sizes–and how satisfied I feel eating less food. I was reminded, once again, how little meat we really need to eat while I was making some hamburgers to barbecue on July 4th.

I’ve never been very good at forming hamburgers. They always ended up looking like rocks. And they felt like rocks when we tried to bite into them. And then I went through a period where I couldn’t stand touching raw meat/poultry. I don’t know why, but I was just was totally creeped out by it. As a result, The Mister took over the responsibility of forming the hamburger patties on those rare occasions when I would serve him something other than beans and rice.

Because we had been away, The Mister was playing catch-up with his projects and had to go the studio to work for a little while on July Fourth. That left me with the task of forming the hamburgers. Now, since I’ve started cooking like my grandmother, I’m not creeped out by raw meat anymore. I’m not afraid to stick my hand into a bowl to mix everything up. But, I was still concerned about forming the hamburgers.

And then I remembered it.

One of the gadgets I had inherited from my grandparents was a “hamburger press.” It works like a charm! I just filled the press with the hamburger mix, turned the knob and out came a perfectly formed hamburger. Out of curiosity, I decided to weigh a few of the patties individually. They all weighed 4 ounces almost to the T. It was amazing to me. In my grandparents’ day, that would have been considered an enormous hamburger. To put it into perspective, in the olden days of my teenage years, these hamburgers would have been considered McDonald’s largest hamburger–The Quarter Pounder (the Big Mac has two 1.6 ounce hamburgers for a total of 3.2 ounces of meat). McDonalds’ original hamburgers have 1.6 ounces of meat. That’s it. To put even more perspective on it, McDonalds’ smallest hamburger is roughly the daily protein portion recommended by the American Heart Association for a 150 pound person (not the 40 pound children that we feed them to–see the Modern Retro Woman post on the topic of protein requirements).

A few years ago, I found a recipe for Deviled Beef Patties in the Better Homes and Gardens 1972 edition of Eat and Stay Slim. I know this cookbook is beyond my 1960 cut-off date, but it belonged to The Mister’s grandmother so I snagged it when I got the chance. I have since seen many recipes called “Deviled Something” and, of course, there are the very popular “deviled eggs.” My unscientific research has led me to believe that anything called “deviled something” means that there is going to be mustard, for sure, and often horseradish, too. If anyone knows the etymology of it, please share it with us. I’m guessing that the mustard (and horseradish) are supposed to make the food spicier and “hotter,” thus the reference to the devil.

Because these hamburgers are so moist, be patient when cooking them. If you try to flip them too soon, they will disintegrate. If you are cooking them stovetop, that isn’t necessarily a problem if you don’t mind crumbly hamburgers. But on the barbecue, a good portion of the hamburger will fall between the grill rungs (and, for the sake of my marriage, I will refrained from telling you why I know this to be true…).

I make up a double or triple batch, form the patties, wrap the uncooked extras individually in plastic wrap and then wrap a group of them together before freezing them. The plastic wrap aids in separating the frozen patties from each other. I just cook them in the pan from frozen and it takes only a few minutes on each side. Yummy!

Deviled Beef Patties

Combine 1 pound ground beef, 1 egg, 1/4 cup chili sauce, 1 teaspoon prepared mustard, 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and dash pepper. Mix well. Makes four 4-ounce patties.