Indian Pudding

While researching food articles for inspiration, I came across an article about Indian Pudding. The writer discussed Indian Pudding as a classic popular dessert that fell off the culinary radar which he describes as, "something of an American tragedy." Those are strong words to use to describe a dessert--this stuff must be good! So today I made a traditional Indian Pudding. The first place I looked for a recipe for the pudding was in my Encyclopedic Cookbook, and of course, the nearly 1,000 page cookbook had a traditional Indian Pudding recipe! It is as follows:


1/2 cup corn meal
1 quart milk, scalded
2/3 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold milk


Add corn meal slowly to hot milk, stirring constantly until thick. Add molasses and salt. Pour into greased baking dish and add cold milk. Bake in slow oven (325F.) 3 hours. Serve hot with hard sauce, ice cream or plain cream. Serves 6


Once again, I began my culinary journey, stumbling through a recipe that I felt could be more detailed. First, I scalded the milk. I learned that to scald milk you must heat the milk until little bubbles form around the sides without letting it boil. Then, I added the cornmeal to the mixture--which became lumpy--and I stirred like a madwoman until the milk began to thicken. As I was stirring, I realized that I didn't know how thick "thick" should be. I wondered if women in the 1950's (when this book started circulating) knew the precise thickness of a proper Indian Pudding. Probably. 

My lumpy milk and cornmeal mixture

A beautiful measure of molasses

Molasses being mixed into the pudding

Topping the pudding with cold milk before putting it in the oven for three hours

The finished product, topped with cream

Inside the Indian Pudding!

The verdict: This stuff is good. While it isn't the most beautiful dessert on Earth, it is truly American. I cannot understand why it has disappeared from the table--especially at Thanksgiving, when it was most popular. I'm going to make it my goal to bring this one back onto the table and into the mouths of Americans everywhere!

Happy adventuring!

Burnt Sugar Dumplings

Tonight I am making a recipe from The Encyclopedic Cookbook from the Culinary Arts Institute, published in 1949. The story behind this book is that it was the only cookbook that my maternal grandparents used. How is this possible, you ask? Well, the book is over 950 pages long--one hardly needs another! Of course, today these recipes seem a bit dated. For example, not many dinner tables are graced with a molded chicken aspic. (An aspic, if you are wondering, is a transparent jelly made from the juices of meat or meat stock that has been firmed with gelatin.) In fact, not many dishes are served in a mold at all--what a shame. In lieu of going to a kitchen store and finding an amazing mold to use for one of these retro recipes, I decided to make something that also caught my eye: Burnt Sugar Dumplings. The recipe from The Encyclopedic Cookbook follows:


SIRUP
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot water
DUMPLINGS
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped walnut meats
3/4 cup milk


Heat 1/2 cup sugar in skillet until it melts to a golden brown sirup. Add butter, salt, and remaining sugar. Add hot water gradually, stirring constantly. Heat to boiling and cook until sugar is dissolved about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Sift flour, baking powder,m sugar and salt together. Cut in butter with pastry blender. Add walnuts; stir in milk all at once, mixing only enough to moisten flour. Drop by tablespoons into gently boiling caramel sauce. Cover tightly and simmer gently 12 to 15 minutes without removing cover. Serve at once with sauce, for 6

Bubbling, browned sugar with two tablespoons of butter added.

Moistened flour mixture with added walnuts.

The first dumplings added to the mixture!

A close-up of the cooking dumplings.

The final product!

The verdict: These are great! I am so pleased that I decided to make Burnt Sugar Dumplings. This recipe is all about timing--making sure that the sugar mixture is being stirred constantly while you simultaneously cut butter into the flour mixture. It would be helpful to have two sets of hands for this one but even if you can't find a friend to help out, these dumplings are worth a try. The flavor is fantastic and it's always fun to try something new.

Happy adventuring!

Chocolate Oddities

In 1892, Reading Terminal Market opened its doors to the city of Philadelphia. Since then, the market has been through many changes but still flourishes today. More than 80 vendors sell their goods at Reading Terminal Market everyday, whether it be free range chicken, local honey, or handmade soap. The market is an exciting, eccentric blend of culinary and artistic delights.


A few weeks ago, while I was walking up and down the aisles of fresh fruit and flowers in the market, I stumbled upon a candy shop selling blog-worthy goods. What first drew me to the candy stand (besides the overwhelming aroma of sugar) was the display of chocolate ears and noses behind glass. Then, as I walked further, I came to "chocolate lab rats." And finally--my personal favorite--chocolate dipped onions. I had to share my findings:

The next time you are in Philadelphia, make a stop at Reading Terminal Market. Not only is it a part of the city's history, the market boasts an array of delicious (and different!) foods and products. If you don't feel comfortable nibbling on a chocolate ear or if you aren't ready to take a chomp out of a chocolate-dipped onion, there are plenty of other mysteries to uncover.

Happy adventuring!

Currant Jelly Tartlets

In modern recipe books it is rare that you will find instruction on how “To Clean Old Oil Paintings” under a pork recipe, but in the Household Book for Practical Receipts by Mrs. George W M Reynolds, that is exactly what you will find. Recipe #224 is for chocolate cream and recipe #225 is for “Dr. Birt Davies’ Gout Mixture.” Recipe #487 is to “Pickle Cheeks of Bacon” and #488 is for “Were’s Eye Lotion.” Recipe #871 is called “Lemon Cream for the Sun burn or Freckles” and #872 is for Currant Jelly Tartlets, which brings me to my next culinary adventure.

Today I will be making Currant Jelly Tartlets. The original recipe reads:

Put four tablespoonsfuls of the best currant jelly into a basin, and stir to it gradually twelve spoonfuls of beaten egg ; if the preserve be rich and sweet, no sugar will be required. Line some pans with paste rolled very thin, fill them with the custard, and bake them about ten minutes.

I found this recipe a bit tricky because lining “some pans” with “paste rolled very thin” meant pretty much nothing to me. Some pans? Cake pans? Brownie pans? Four tablespoons of currant jelly is not going to spread across an 8x10 pan. And what exactly is paste? With a little research I found that “paste” is really just piecrust. A simple sweet paste can be made from flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. All ingredients are mixed together to form a stiff paste, thus the name! The following recipe for paste is from “Soyer's Standard Cookery” (1912):

Sweet Paste For Tartlets

Ingredients. - Two pounds of fine flour, sixteen ounces of  castor sugar, ten ounces of butter, six eggs, the finely-grated rind of lemon.

Method. - Sift the flour into a bowl, make a hole in the center, put in the sugar, butter and eggs, and mix the whole into a stiff paste. Roll and use as required.

Now that we have more information, we can move on to the Currant Jelly Tartlets. For the tartlets, I decided to use a 6-cup cupcake pan. I cut rounds from the sweet paste using a martini glass to form perfect circles.

Then, I lined the cupcake pan with the cut-outs, pressing the middle of each round into the bottom of the pan.

Next, I mixed the beaten egg into the currant jelly.

Then, I poured the currant jelly mixture into the middle of the paste rounds.

I baked the tartlets in an oven at 350 F for ten minutes, like the recipe said, but they were not nearly done by that point so I watched them until the egg mixture became firm and then removed them from the oven.

The verdict: They aren't the most beautiful tartlets in the world, but they sure are tasty! (I might suggest a little of the currant jelly on top for some more flavor and sweetness.) If I were to make this again, I would use a smaller cup cupcake pan (possibly a 12 or 24 cup pan) which would spread the mixture more thinly and enable the custard to cook more quickly. 

Happy adventuring!