George Washington's hand-written beer recipe

George Washington's handwritten recipe for "small beer" was recently published on the New York Public Library's Tumblr.
Here is a transcription:

To Make Small Beer


Take a large siffer [Sifter] full of bran hops to your taste. Boil these 3 hours. Then strain out 30 gallons into a cooler. Put in 3 gallons molasses while the beer is scalding hot or rather draw the molasses into the cooler & strain the beer on it while boiling hot. Let this stand till it is little more than blood warm then put in a quart of yeast. If the weather is very cold cover it over with a blanket & let it work in the cooler 24 hours then put it into the cask. Leave the bung open till it is almost done working. Bottle it that day week it was brewed.

[ via Bon Appetit's blog ]

Handwritten Recipes

Visit Handwritten Recipes for a collection of handwritten recipes found in books! (The site is also looking for folks interested in making the recipes.)

Graham Cracker Crisps

1 1/4 packages at a time
Break in 1 cracker pieces

1/4 cup sugar and 1 stick oleo - Bring to a boil for 2 min. exactly

Spoon over crackers. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 min. Cool and put in containers.

Sausage Roll-Ups

Use flaky biscuits. Precook cocktail sausages. Pull biscuit into pieces and roll around sausage. Cut in two (if desired). These freeze great. Defrost slightly and bake.

Hints

Blanch almonds - Drop in boiling water. Let stand 5 min. and skin will peel off.

Limp celery will crisp - Place in cold water and add slice of raw potato. Refrigerate for several hours.

Tenderize a pot roast or stew meat by using hot tea as a cooking liquid.

Filled Date Nut Bread

For large group (150-170 guests), use 24 cans of sliced date nut bread, 10 large packages cream cheese and 3 large cans of crushed pineapple (drained). Save some juice for cheese. Soften cheese with juice. Use grated pecans or desired in mixture. Mix all together and spread on open-face or closed sandwiches.

Chicken Camp Stew

(slow fire)

3 hens cooked (reserve stock)
6 fryers cooked (reserve stock)
4 lg bottles of Durkee sauce
7 lemons, sliced or finely chopped
8 cans cream-style corn
8 cans tomatoes
3 lg bottles Worcestershire sauce
1 gallon catsup
1/3 box salt
14 lbs. potatoes, cubed and cooked almost done)

Debone hen and fryers. Remove skin. Using broth as a base, mix all ingredients and cook very slowly, stirring constantly until cooked down. Add pepper or hot sauce to taste. Yield: 25 qts.

This may be cooked in pressure cooker 40 min. at 15 pressure.

Chicken Casserole Frenchette

4 large chicken breasts (boned)
1 cup mayonnaise
5 cups potato chips (3 cups coarsely chopped, 2 cups finely chopped)
1 pkg dehydrated onion soup
1 10 oz. can beef bouillon, heated and thickened with 2 tbsp flour mixed with 4 tbsp water

Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Don't overdo. Grease 8 x 10  baking dish. Dredge chicken breast in mayonnaise, coating well.  Place 2 cups of finely crushed potato chips in paper bag. One breast at a time and shake until well coated. Arrange 3 cups of coarsely crushed chips in bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with dehydrated soup. Pour on thickened bouillon. Place chicken on top of the mixture. Bake 30 min. Turn and bake 30 min. more.

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla
1 or 2 cups chopped nuts

Pinch into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees F until brown. Makes 7 dozen.

Beef or Pork Camp Stew

3 large hens
12 to 15 lb cheap cut beef or pork
15 lb potatoes (cubed and cooked until almost done)
8 lbs. onions, chopped
1 gallon catsup
10-12 lemons (sliced or chopped)
12 cans cream corn
12 cans tomatoes
3 lg bottles Worcestershire sauce
1 pt. mustard
4 tbsp black pepper
4 tbsp red pepper
3 lg. bottles Durkee sauce
Salt to taste

Cook hens (debone) and beef. Use just enough water to cover. Reserve liquid. Remove shin and fat from both. Put through grinder or chop fine. Combine all ingredients using some liquid. Remember stew should be thick. Cook 4 to 6 hours very slowly. Stir.

Can be cooked in pressure 40 min. at 15#. Yield: 20 qts. Serves 80

Greek Salad Dressing

1 cup vinegar
2 cups olive oil
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 tsp oregano (or more, to taste)

Mix in large jar. Cover and shake well. Let stand two days at room temperature. Shake well before using.

Ben's Chocolates/Bacon-Topped Cheese Ball

Ben's Chocolates

1 quart pecans
24 oz. white almond bark
12 oz. milk chocolate chips

Toast pecans (set aside)

Melt almond bark in double boiler or microwave. Add milk chocolate chips and stir until melted. Add pecans and drop by spoonsful onto wax paper.

Makes about 90 pieces.

JoAnn Dudley
Dallas, Texas

The cheeseball recipe is available online here. This card says it's from the Five Star Recipe Collection of Southern Living.

Strawberry or Cherry Salad

2 boxes strawberry or cherry Jello
1 can strawberry or cherry pie filling
1 can undrained crushed pineapple

Dissolve Jello in 1 cup boiling water, add pineapple and pie filling. Mix well and let gel.

Topping: 8 oz. cream cheese, 8 oz. sour cream, 1 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla

Mix and spread on Jello.

Classic Guacamole

This one's still exactly the same... and on the Web (so I don't have to type it!).

Slaw

1 cabbage (shred)
4 peppers
4 onions
2 cups vinegar
1 cup oil
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar

Soak six hours or overnight

Broccoli Casserole

2 pkg chopped broccoli, prepared and drained

Saute medium onion, 1/2 stick butter, 1 roll garlic cheese, 1/2 cup milk, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, chopped or whole mushrooms, and dash Worcestershire sauce. Add broccoli and top with Ritz crackers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 min.

My note: If you really want to make this, put it in a casserole dish before baking! ;)

Strawberry Cheese Pie

Well, this recipe is still on the Eagle Brand site, but a little bit has changed. They now recommend lemon juice rather than RealLemon Lemon Juice from Concentrate. (Is this no longer available?) Notice here that they don't encourage you to visit a Web site but send for the free recipe sampler. Remember those days? (Just pay $3.99 for shipping!)

And when did they stop putting "(NOT evaporated milk)" after sweetened condensed milk? I used to wonder why they thought I couldn't tell the difference!

Pimiento Cheese

1 - 1/2 lb. NY State Cheddar Cheese (grated)
1 lg. jar chopped pimiento (undrained)
5 chopped hard-boiled eggs
3 tbsp Durkee sauce
1/2 to 1 cup sweet pickled relish

Use mayonnaise to moisten

(Can substitute 4 dill pickles, chopped, for relish)

My note: I have never heard of Durkee sauce. Have you? Is this a regional thing?

Sugar-free Vanilla & Chocolate Pudding

It seems that this cookbook belonged to Ms. Cox and that she spent some time in Rankin Medical Center in Brandon. (There were lots of daily menu choices included in the cookbook too.) It looks like a nurse or other employee left this recipe for her one day...

1 box instant sugar-free vanilla pudding
1 box instant sugar-free chocolate pudding

Add skim milk only

Jello Confetti

(I can't find Grayson Hardin Air Conditioning online, so it looks like the recipe survived longer than the company!)

1 small box each orange, lime, lemon and strawberry Jello
2 envelopes Dream Whip
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup sugar

Mix orange, lime and strawberry Jello separately with 1 cup boiling water and 1/2 cup cold water in each. Pour in small pans (ice trays) and let gel thoroughly.

Heat 1 cup pineapple juice and 1/4 cup sugar until sugar is melted. Add lemon Jello. Mix until dissolved, adding 1/2 cup cold water.

Chill this mixture until it begins to thicken. Mix Dream Whip as directed on package. Fold lemon mixture into Dream Whip. Cut the pans (ice trays) of lime, orange and strawberry Jello in squares about 1 inch. Fold the squares into lemon/Dream Whip mixture and chill for several hours. (Can serve over pound cake.)

My note: It looks like she's saying that you can use ice trays in place of a pan and the Jello will already be in one-inch squares!

Brownies

1 box German chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup melted oleo
1 cup chopped nuts
6 oz. evaporated milk
1 14 oz. pkg caramels
6 oz. mini chocolate chips

Melt caramels with 1/3 cup of milk in microwave. Set aside to cool.

Blend cake mix, nuts and remainder of milk. Spread half of mix in 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 6 min. in 350 degree F oven.

Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes. Spread caramel mix over cake mix. Sprinkle chocolate chip and crumble rest of cake mix on top. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Welcome to (Re)Collected Recipes

This cookbook, Cane River Cuisine, deserves to be my first posting, because it inspired me to start this blog. I already had a copy of this cookbook but the recipe cards inside it were so extensive that I bought it again (even at $5.99!).

I love buying community cookbooks in thrift stores or used bookstores because they almost always include recipe cards shoved in, notes in the margin, and other clues that give you a glimpse into the kitchen of its previous owner.

Technology has changed the way we eat, the way we cook - and even the way we collect recipes. (I often cook with my ipad right by me.) Here, I want to offer a glimpse back at the way that previous cooks collected recipes. (I want to recollect them for posterity, I guess.) But I also want to explore the recipes themselves, so I will type them out when I can read the writing. If you want to feature a (re)collected recipe you've found here, just email a picture, the text, what cookbook you found it in and any story that goes along with it to shawnzrossi@gmail.com.