Author: Andi Cohen-Rabiner

I'm a home cook and baker taking on the recipes of old. I collect vintage cookbooks and glassware and combine my collections to cook vintage recipes plated on vintage glassware.
Gourmet Spinach

Gourmet Spinach

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 1 Comment

A Recipe from Quick Dishes for the Woman in a Hurry (1955)

About the Recipe

This is a delightful creamed spinach recipe, and as it says a truly quick dish. A friend of mine compared it (much to my delight) to the creamed spinach at Peter Luger’s. While I’m not that talented in the kitchen, this was a lovely way to eat spinach.

One quick note – really really drain that spinach. I didn’t drain it enough and the end result was a little liquid-y for my taste. But the flavor was good, and I’ll make it again, especially given as quick and easy as it was.

About the Book

I happened upon this book in a set called Cooking Magic released by the Culinary Arts Institute at a flea market here in High Falls. The set I have includes several booklets, clearly lovingly collected over time. While the recipes themselves can be a challenge, I’ve not yet had one that’s turned out poorly.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 lb. spinach
1/4 cup cream
2 T butter or margarine
1 T minced onion
1 t prepared horse-radish
1/2 t salt
1/4 t monosodium glutamate
1/8 t pepper

Directions:

Remove stems, roots, and bruised leaves from spinach. Wash thoroughly by lifting up and down in cold water. Lift leaves out of water each time. When free from sand and gritty material, place spinach in heavy saucepan. Cook in a partially covered pan with only the water which clings to the leaves after final washing for 8-10 minutes.

Drain cooked spinach and chop. Return spinach to saucepan. Add cream, butter, onion and horse-radish, and the mixture of the salt, monosodium glutamate, and pepper, and stir to blend. Return to heat; cook until heated thoroughly.

Olive Cheese Nuggets

Olive Cheese Nuggets

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A Recipe from 100 Grand National Recipes Collected for You at Pillsbury’s Best 8th Grand National (1957)

About the Recipe

Quick confession – I love weird recipes. And this one falls into the “this is very odd, but it just might be delicious” category. The cheese crust is so tender and yummy. And it provides the perfect wrap for the olives (I used ones stuffed with pimentos, but trying different stuffings would work well).

A few quick notes if you give this one a try – the dough wraps around the olives way better if you take some time to really work it with your hands and give it a few kneads. I chose to put them in the oven right away, however if given the option I would definitely make these ahead of time and refrigerate them before the bake. If nothing else, it gives the butter time to reconstitute, so that you end up with even more flake when it comes out of the oven.

All in all, this was actually a really fun recipe, and a total hit at the socially distanced barbecue!

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

This book was a gift from a very generous fellow member of a cookbook group I belong to. Every day I marvel at these humans all around the world who preserve and enjoy these old books and recipes. We come from all walks of life, but really do come together over food, and it’s just so amazing.

Of note on this one – there was one male senior contestant and four teenage boy contestants! The recipes they entered with were a little outside of what I was looking for this time around, but I’ll circle back and try them in the future.

About the glassware

Spring Blossom is my favorite Pyrex pattern, and this little guy came from my mother. She got it as a gift, and when she saw my passion for the old glassware growing she decided to gift it, along with two others to me. It’s a little odd, but it hold memories of crab dip and steamed greenbeans and late night dinners and snacks. Thanks, mom!

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup soft butter
3/4 cup flour
1/8 t salt
1/2 t paprika
medium sized stuffed green olives

Directions:

Blend together cheddar cheese and butter in mixing bowl. Sift together flour, salt and paprika into cheese-butter mixture. Mix together to form a dough. Shape around olives, using about a teaspoonful of dough for each olive. Place on ungreased baking sheet.**

Bake in moderately hot oven (400*F) 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot or cold.

Cranberry Whirl Ham Dinner

Cranberry Whirl Ham Dinner

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A Recipe from Pillsbury’s 7th Grand National Cookbook (1956)

About the Recipe

At first glance, this is a very complicated recipe. But then, if you start getting into the 1950’s of it all, it’s not so bad. And let me tell you, I quarantine cooking / 1950’s post war’d the heck out of this thing! I used canned everything and it was freakin’ delicious. 10/10 will make again.

This recipe is like Christmas dinner in a casserole. To Mrs. Frank J. Neeley of New York, NY – you are a mad casserole genius. The biscuit came out perfectly flaky and tender, and with all of the juices and flavors bubbling up around it as it baked, they absorbed some of that flavor. Sheer perfection.

If you’re looking for a yummy, tender biscuit this might just be the one to try. It’s going in the “experiment with me” bank for sure.

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

This was the other Pillsbury book from the wonderful Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in the East Village, Manhattan. There’s absolutely nothing that can replace a good, independent book seller and cookbook enthusiast. The more I speak to these fantastic humans, the more my passion for cooking out of the old books grows.

One note of interest on this one – Pillsbury starts going through a bit of an identity crisis with what to call the contest itself. This is the first year that they’ve shortened it to “Grand National.”

About the glassware

This 2.5 quart Pyrex Butterfly Gold casserole dish came to me from a friend as part of a set. The dishes belonged to their grandmother and you can feel all of the love that’s been baked into them over the years.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 No. 2 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks or tidbits
3 c (2 lb.) cubed cooked ham
2 c sliced cooked sweet potato (canned or 4 medium potatoes)
1/3 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t ground cloves
2 T butter

Cranberry Whirl Biscuits:
3/4 c fresh cranberries, ground or chopped fine
3 T sugar
1 T + 1 1/2 c flour, divided
3 t double-acting baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/3 c Crisco
1 beaten egg
1/3 c milk

Directions:

Drain the pineapple, reserving juice. Measure 1 cup pineapple; add ham. Prepare the sweet potatoes if not canned. Alternate layers of the ham-pineapple mixture and sweet potato in greased 2-quart casserole, starting with the ham mixture.

Combine brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in medium saucepan. Add 1 cup of the reserved pineapple juice and butter. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Pour over mixture in casserole.

Bake in moderately hot oven (400*F) 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare Cranberry Whirl Biscuits.

Cranberry Whirl Biscuits:
Combine cranberries, sugar, and 1 T of the flour. Set aside.

Sift together remaining flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in Crisco thoroughly until particles are fine. Add egg and milk. Stir until dough clings together in a ball. Knead lightly 10 strokes on floured pastry cloth or board.

Roll out to a 12″-square. Spread with the cranberry mixture. Roll as for jelly roll. Cut into 1 1/4″ slices; arrange cut side down on hot mixture in casserole. Bake 25-30 minutes at 400*F until biscuits are golden brown.

Peach Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Peach Sour Cream Coffee Cake

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A Recipe from Grandma Jones’ recipe box

About the Recipe

I visited my grandma recently, along with my husband and my dad. She let me go through her recipe box, and when she pulled this recipe out she said, “This one is very old… and very good.” So good in fact, that she had it written down on 3 different scraps of paper stuffed in the box!

I had no choice but to make it for dessert that night. As I banged around my grandma’s kitchen, I could see her struggling with letting me do it alone. Eventually she just sat and watched, but every now and again a little tip or trick would pop out of her mouth.

When my dad saw it coming out of the oven, he said – “OH! Is that the peach cake? It’s very old, and very good.” And so it is.

For more of my family recipes, click here!

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup cinnamon & sugar
1 large can of peaches, drained

Directions:

Mix the sour cream and the baking soda. Set aside and let bubble.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add 2 eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.

Sift together flour and baking powder. Add flour mixture & sour cream mixture alternatively.

Butter square cake pan (9×9). Put half of batter in pan, sprinkle 2/3 cinnamon mixture on top, then add rest of batter, peaches on top of that and rest of cinnamon & sugar. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350*

Banana Luncheon Bread

Banana Luncheon Bread

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A Recipe from 100 Prize-Winning Recipes from Pillsbury’s 2nd Grand National $100,000 Recipe and Baking Contest (1951)

About the Recipe

Okay – I know the last thing everyone needs at this point is yet *another* banana bread recipe, but hear me out! For the 2nd Grand National Contest, Pillsbury allowed junior contestants for the first time. So when I selected a recipe, it had to be a junior winner.

To top it off – this is actually really superb banana bread recipe. Even though it’s on the more complicated side of the quick breads equation, it’s extremely forgiving. A little too much banana? No problem. A little too much baking powder? It’ll do fine. A little longer than necessary in the mixer? You’ll still get a nice, crumbly quick bread.

The long, slow baking time allows for some of that give and take. It also makes the entire house smell so yummy that you can hardly wait to take it out of the oven. Sorry, junior winner Gracy Zeppenfield – we cut it before it cooled!

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

As my grandmother would say – the best laid plans never seem to work out. This book came to me slightly later than the rest of the books in the challenge, so we’re going a little bit out of order here. I’m sure you’ll forgive me.

This book came from the wonderful Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in the East Village, Manhattan. To keep curious cooks busy during the pandemic, she’s doing mystery boxes that she’s shipping all over the country. I was fortunate enough to have this gem hidden inside.

As an early book, there a tons of basics in this one, including obviously the banana bread. If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend it!

About the glassware

This Fire King Anchor Hocking loaf pan came from an antiques mall in North Caroline where I was visiting a friend. It’s one of many little treasures that I grabbed that day and every time I use it I think of day. The pattern is Meadow Green, I believe from the 1970’s. Certainly the avocado hue seems to fit that time.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 t double-acting baking powder
1/2 t soda
1 t salt
1/2 c shortening
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
1/2 c chopped nuts

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.

Cream shortening. Add sugar gradually, creaming well.

Blend in 2 eggs, one at a time. Beat well.

Add mashed banana. Mix well.

Blend in sifted dry ingredients. Fold in chopped nuts.

Pour into greased 9x5x3-inch pan. Push batter up into corners of pan, leaving the center slightly hollowed. For well-rounded loaf, allow to stand 20 minutes before baking.

Bake in moderate oven (350* F) 60-70 minutes. Cool thoroughly before slicing.

Egg Baskets

Egg Baskets

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A Recipe from 100 Prize Winning Grand National Recipes from Pillsbury’s 6th Grand National $100,000 Recipe & Baking Contest (1955)

About the Recipe

Every now and again a breakfast recipe comes along and it feels like a lot of work just for some eggs in a flaky crust… Thankfully, this recipe is worth every minute of effort.

The cheesy crust is flaky and light and bakes just right around the eggs. There’s a dash of paprika on the top of each basket for a little bit of extra flavor, and that sauce is just right to finish off the dish.

That said, it’s a lot of work. If I make it again, I might try a pre-made crust with some cheese buried inside as opposed to making the whole thing from scratch. It was a rough crust to deal with, and the pre-made would make this go so quickly.

There’s also something to be said here for playing with the flavors a little bit – some hot sauce or veggies hidden somewhere would go a long way to taking this from good, to great! I went ahead and substituted fresh dill weed for the dill seed below and it was super successful. If you make this recipe and make any changes, leave your notes in the comments below!

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

For some reason this book’s recipes never spoke to me the same way the others did. This was my first time baking out of it after finding it in an antique mall in North Carolina just over a year ago. That said, it’s still a solid book, and the egg baskets have given me more confidence in the quality of the other recipes.

About the glassware

I’m so excited to pull out my Colonial Mist Pyrex pitcher for this one! My husband got it for me for Hannukah this year, specifically to match the Correlle platter. It makes me smile every time I have the opportunity to pull it out.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup Crisco
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5-6 T cold water
6 eggs
salt & pepper
paprika

Cheese Dill Sauce:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
2 T chopped parsley
2 t crushed dill seed
1/2 t salt

Directions:

Sift together flour and salt into mixing bowl. Cut in Crisco and cheddar cheese until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle cold water over mixture, a little at a time, while tossing and stirring lightly with fork. Add water to driest particles, pushing lumps to side, until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Form into a ball. Flatten to about 1/2-inch thickness. Smooth dough at edges.

Roll out on floured pastry cloth or board to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out six circles (about 5 inches across). Fit each inside a muffin pan or individual tart pan, pressing pastry against sides and bottom of pan to form a smooth lining. Let pastry edges extend 1/4-inch above pan for a rim.

Cut out six more circles (about 4 inches across), re-rolling dough for the last few circles. Cut a gash in the center of each. Break 6 eggs into the pastry-lined pans. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cover with the small circles. Seal edges of top and bottom crusts by pinching together to form a rim. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake in a hot oven (450*F) for 20-22 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with sauce.

Cheese Dill Sauce:
Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan. Blend in flour. Gradually add milk; cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese, parsley, dill seed, and salt. (Dill seed may be crushed between two sheets of waxed paper with a hammer.) Cover if sauce must stand before serving.

Maple Syrup Layer Cake

Maple Syrup Layer Cake

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 2 Comments

A Recipe from 100 Prize Winning Recipes from Pillsbury’s 5th Grand National Recipe & Baking Contest (1954)

About the Recipe

This cake is like a fluffy, maple cloud of crumbly goodness. I was a little bit skeptical about it, as on paper it sounds like it will be very sweet. I used real maple syrup and the balance was *just right*. The frosting is like a maple marshmallow, and the walnuts are just the right crunch to balance it out. This is the perfect cake for someone who likes something a little bit different.

Oh and pro tip – when it started getting a little bit stale, I crumbled over vanilla ice cream for a treat – YUM!

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

Another one of the originals of my Pillsbury collection, I absolutely love this book. It’s published in 1954 and it feels like folks were starting to experiment a little bit more. Your standard biscuits and pies just don’t cut it for this contest, and the group of cooks gets a bit creative. Definitely one to grab if you find it.

About the glassware

I feel like a fraud again! I only have one cake stand, and this is it. I did select it for the lovely dome which keeps things fresh and delicious.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 t double-acting baking powder
3/4 t soda
1/4 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup maple-flavored syrup
1/2 cup hot water
2 T walnuts, chopped

Fluffy Maple Frosting:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup maple-flavored syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 t Cream of Tartar
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, ginger, and salt. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Blend in maple syrup gradually.

Add hot water alternately with the dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Blend thoroughly after each addition. With electric mixer use low speed.

Turn into two well-greased and lightly floured 8-inch round layer pans, at least 1 1/4 inches deep. Bake in moderate oven (350*F) for 30-35 minutes. Cool and frost. Garnish with walnuts.

Fluffy Maple Frosting:
Combine egg whites, syrup, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in top of double boiler. Cook over boiling water, beating constantly with rotary beater or electric mixer until mixture stands in peaks. Remove from heat. Add vanilla; continue beating until thick enough to spread.

Cumberland Sauce

Cumberland Sauce

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A Recipe from Wilson’s Meat Cookery (1941)

About the Recipe

At the start of the quarantine, my husband and I were stocking up at the grocery store, and I said “I’m going to try to cook duck!” Because – why not? It was a long road ahead and duck is something that we usually only get now and then in China-town. So I grabbed two duck breasts and started getting excited.

But then I discovered – there aren’t a ton of duck recipes. Modern or vintage, there are really only a handful of ways to cook a duck, and the easiest and tastiest is just to sear it. Score the skin side of the breast, and then put it skin side down in a hot pan over medium flame. Let the fat render and drain it off as it starts to spatter. Once the fat’s rendered and the skin is crispy (5-7 minutes) flip it over and sear the other side. And that’s it! Done!

So how do we make it vintage – with the sauce! This light, citrus-y sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the seared duck. I poured it over and let it soak briefly. Perfection.

There was plenty left over, so it’s saved to try some other ways. It should make a great dressing for a spinach salad, and I’m actually betting that it’s pretty good swirled in some yogurt or over vanilla ice cream.

About the book

This book came in the mail today and it was total kismet. The duck breasts were sitting, thawing on the counter and I opened the book right to the sauce. It came as part of a box from Bonnie Slotnick’s Cookbooks, a small cookbook shop in NYC’s East Village. If you’re ever in town, I highly recommend checking it out. Bonnie is delightful and her cookbook knowledge is encyclopedic. I can’t wait to dig into this book for more meat dishes in the future!

About the glassware

I love pulling out this Butterfly Gold Corelle platter. It was a gift from a friend who would have enjoyed this duck very much. It’s not super old, but it makes me smile.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

3 T red currant jelly
2 T port wine
2 T orange juice
1 T lemon juice
1 t mixed mustard
1 t paprika
1/2 t ground ginger
3 T orange rind, finely shredded

Directions:

Melt jelly over low fire until liquid. Cool, add port wine, orange juice, lemon juice and spices. Cover orange rind with cold water, bring to boil and drain. Add blanched orange rind to first mixture and serve. 

Down East Crabmeat Pie

Down East Crabmeat Pie

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A Recipe from 100 Prize Winning Recipes from Pillsbury’s 4th Grand National Recipe & Baking Contest (1953)

About the Recipe

What an absolutely delightful way to kickoff my Pillsbury Challenge. This recipe was a bit like eating a crab cake pie. It made me think of afternoons picking crabs and drinking beer in the Baltimore Inner Harbor – basically a perfect afternoon.

It took some looking around to find the right “chili sauce” which nowadays means any sauce made from a chili and can range from sriracha to habanero sauce to regular old Heinz. Research notes that in the ’50s this would have been a plain old jar of Heinz so that’s what I went with. Quick note here – I would definitely sub out half of the plain chili sauce for something a little bit more spicy and exciting to give it more of a kick. While this pie is far from bland, it would be served well by a little something extra.

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

Published in 1953 for Pillsbury’s 4th Grand National contest, this book was one of my first, and is still one of my favorites. The recipes are so indicative of the time – lots of “pre-bake” or “freeze for later” notes from the cooks. If you ever see one of these books in the wild, grab it. You won’t be sorry.

About the glassware

Unfortunately, this pie pan is a fraud – a modern pan to accommodate a large pie. With the pandemic, I’m separated from my vintage pie pans, but this one is still lovely and was a gift from a close friend.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1/3 cup Homogenized Spry (Crisco)
3-4 T water
2 cups (two 6.5 oz cans) crabmeat or other seafood
2/3 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup cooked green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup cooked celery, chopped
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t grated onion

For the Cheese Sauce:
3 T butter or margarine
3 T flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated processed cheese

Directions:

Sift together the flour and salt. Cut in the Spry until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle water over mixture, tossing lightly with fork until dough is moist enough to hold together. Form into a ball.

Roll out on floured pastry cloth or board to a circle 1 1/2 inches larger than inverted 9-inch pie pan. Fit pastry loosely into pie pan. Fold edge to form standing rim; flute. Prick crust with fork. Bake in hot oven (450*F) for 10 minutes.

Combine crabmeat, chili sauce, green pepper, celery, salt, and onion. Blend well. Turn into partially-baked pie shell. Pour cheese sauce on top. Bake in moderately hot oven (400*F) for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

CHEESE SAUCE:
Melt butter or margarine in top of double boiler over boiling water. Blend in flour, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and milk. Cook until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly. Blend in processed cheese.

More About the Pillsbury Challenge

More About the Pillsbury Challenge

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I have the fortune of belonging to a wonderful group on Facebook called Cooking Vintage. This community of collectors and cooks proudly shares and discusses vintage recipes and books, much to the delight of us all.

One day a woman posted about how much she loved the Pillsbury Bake-Off books. I jumped into the conversation – I also loved these books and was looking for more on my regular journeys to the antique stores. I had exactly 3 of them – the 4th, 5th, and 6th versions. But oh… I definitely wanted more.

Shortly after stating as much, two women in the group reached out to me – in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and because they had so much overflow, they were going to gift me all of their duplicates. JOY!

So there they are – my total collection in all it’s floury recipe glory.

And I’m challenging myself to bake one recipe out of each of them, in order.

One thing I’ve noticed over a few years of cooking from these books is that they’re little time capsules into our kitchens. I’m looking forward to seeing how these recipes progress and change over the years.

Stay tuned to the main challenge page for recipes and adventures as I have them!