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.
A Recipe from Good Housekeeping’s Christmas Cook Book (1958)
About the Recipe
This marshmallow fluff frosting is so light and delicious. I don’t do corn syrup in my house, so I substituted real maple syrup instead, and it gave it just a hint of warmth that really balanced out the rest of the sweetness. It was the perfect frosting for this Confetti Christmas Cake. Don’t let the double boiler scare you – dive in and you’ll be rewarded with a delightful addition to your next cake.
About the Cookbook
This book came in a set of Good Housekeeping booklets that I bought for myself as a housewarming present. As with the other books, it’s a great set of recipes. The mid-century modern graphics and accents are so much fun. There are some truly creative recipes in this book, and I can see putting it to good use each year during the holiday season.
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
2 egg whites 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup water 1 T white corn syrup 1/2 t salt 1 t vanilla extract
Directions:
In double-boiler top, combine egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup and salt. With electric mixer at high speed, beat over rapidly boiling water until mixture holds peaks – about 7 or 8 min. Turn into bowl; add vanilla; beat until mixture forms stiff peaks.
A Recipe from Good Housekeeping’s Christmas Cook Book (1958)
About the Recipe
I had a mighty need to bake yesterday, and when my favorite vintage cookbooks Facebook group declared this week’s challenge to be Christmas Cakes, this seemed like the perfect recipe to turn to. As cakes go, this one is quick and easy to execute.
The most challenging part is stirring in the nonpareils. No really! If you’ve never done it before, as quickly and with as few spoon strokes as you can fold them in. If you can get it done without streaking, the results are magical!
The result is a fluffy, sweet confetti cake that would be the perfect addition to any dinner party, not just for Christmas. And when all was said and done, this one was for sure husband approved, and just what the chef ordered for a slushy Sunday afternoon.
About the Cookbook
This book came in a set of Good Housekeeping booklets that I bought for myself as a housewarming present. As with the other books, it’s a great set of recipes. The mid-century modern graphics and accents are so much fun. There are some truly creative recipes in this book, and I can see putting it to good use each year during the holiday season.
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
2 cups sifted cake flour 3 t double-acting baking powder 1 t salt 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup soft shortening 3/4 cup milk 2 eggs, unbeaten 1 t vanilla extract 1/4 cup multi-colored nonpareils Flaked coconut green and red maraschino cherries, halved and drained
Directions:
Start heating oven to 350*F. Grease, then flour, bottoms of 2 1 1/4′-deep 8″ layer pans.
Into large mixer bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt, sugar. Drop in shortening; pour in milk. With electric mixer at low to medium speed, beat 2 min, scraping bowl and beaters as needed. Drop in eggs; pour in vanilla; beat 2 min.
Sprinkle batter with nonpareils; then, with spoon, gently fold them in. Quickly turn batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30-40 min., or until done. Cool in pans on wire racks 10-15 min. Remove from pans; finish cooling on racks. Fill and frost with Seven Minute frosting. Sprinkle with flaked coconut; press maraschino cherry halves into sides and top of cake.
On an impulse at the grocery store with the fancy butcher shop, my husband and I decided to buy a duck. And from the moment I bought that duck, my husband started going on about how he wanted duck… a l’orange! So, I asked him to find a recipe and told him I’d make it happen.
This recipe is (as the cookbook title would suggest) very simple to make. Admittedly, I basted every 10 minutes, not every 5, both to give me a little bit of respite as the cook, as well as to allow the bird to actually cook. I’ve had too many Thanksgivings with enthusiastic basters make the turkey take 3 hours longer than it should.
I also used homemade turkey stock, leftover from simmering my Thanksgiving bird. If you have the opportunity to make your own stock, I highly recommend it. Otherwise, any good broth will probably work well.
Other than that, I followed the recipe to the letter. And my husband was all too happy to carve it up!
My husband, Michael gleefully carving the bird and anticipating the completed dish
About the Book
This is another (earlier) Peter Pauper book, and one of many many others. These little books are great additions to any cookbook shelf. The recipes are exactly as they promise – simple to follow – and the illustrations are just beautiful. If you see one, snag it!
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
Whole duck
Orange Sauce: 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup flour 1 1/2 cups stock 1/2 t salt 1/2 cup orange juice 2 T Sherry 1 orange rind, grated
Directions:
Dress, clean, and truss duck. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on rack in roasting pan; bake in 450* oven 12-15 minutes to the pound. Baste every 5 minutes in orange juice. A 6-pound duck will serve 4.
Orange Sauce: Brown butter, add flour and salt, and stir until well browned. Add stock gradually and just before serving add orange juice, sherry, and rind. Heat thoroughly and pour over duck.
I’ve always been a bit hesitant to try cooking white, flaky fish. I have no good reason why, other than no one ever taught me how to cook it, so I’m relying simply on the recipe. The good news is – this is a great, easy to follow recipe.
This is a newer book to my shelves, and I was so delighted when it came and was even better than I had thought. The illustrations are so beautiful. Take a deeper look at it here:
From the two fisherman to their fishing basket, the details are just so lovely. While the recipes are a little bit vague, the book is wonderful. I love learning about a culture through their food, and this book is perfect for that kind of journey.
About the Glassware
Officially this dish is called the Deluxe Cinderella Casserole dish, but most folks call the pattern Golden Hearts. It was released only in 1959 and in its full set comes with a lid (not pictured) and a cradle with a double candle warmer. A dream for any aspiring hostess!
This was a gift from a close friend to warm my new home and kitchen. Lucky me – when she brought it over it was filled with her signature mashed potatoes. YUM!
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
2 onions, chopped 3 T butter 6 fillets of haddock or cod 1 pound potatoes 3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sour cream Bread crumbs
Directions:
Fry the onions in the butter. Flatten out the fish. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes and slice them. Put in a greased ovenproof dish a layer of fish, cover with a layer of potatoes and some of the fried onions; then a layer of fish, and so forth. End with a layer of potatoes. Beat the eggs with the salt for a few minutes. Add the sour cream and pour over the fish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake in a moderate oven (350*F) for about 3/4 hour. Any kind of fish can be used for this recipe.
A Recipe fromGrandma Jones’ recipe box & my Bridal Shower Cookbook
About the Recipe
My grandma was the wife of a doctor. As such, she knew how to host! When we went to holidays at her house growing up, there were a few things that you could depend on – a fantastic table setting, my Zaydee (grandpa) taking photos every 5 minutes, my father and his sister fighting over the best parts of the turkey, and grandma’s apple pie.
I truly believe that my love of baking came from years and years of getting to her house, putting on an apron, and getting floury in the kitchen with this pie and this pie crust. Making it each Thanksgiving for my family and friends has become a ritual that I hope to pass on some day as well.
I’ve made some small filling adjustments over the years. I soak raisins in whiskey or bourbon and pour them and the soaking liquor into the filling. I’ve added ground clove and other spices here and there. But the core of the pie – apples, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg – is classic and delicious.
This book is not old in and of itself, but it is filled with old family and friend recipes. For my bridal shower, my cousin Becky (yes, the same Becky from A Weekend at Becky’s) compiled this book full of them. There are recipes from folks no longer with us, and recipes that traveled halfway across the world. I will always treasure this very special book. But, sadly, there’s only one.
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
Pie crust: 2 sticks of butter 2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup, or a little more *ice* water
Filling: 6-8 apples, peeled & cut up cinnamon sugar raisins (if you want) dash of nutmeg
Directions:
Add butter to flour, break up into small pieces. Add water to form a ball. Refrigerate for 1 hour+.
Remove to flour surface, divide in 2, and roll out! Line pie tin with bottom crust.
Peel and cut the apples. Add cinnamon, a little sugar. You can add raisins if you want. A dash of nutmeg.
Add to bottom crust. Top with other half of crust rolled out. Poke holes in the top & bake at 400* for about an hour.
A Recipe fromthe Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking (1959)
About the Recipe
A friend of mine sent me a text the other day with a mission – She decided to give back this holiday season by stocking full Thanksgiving dinners-for-four in the community fridges in her neighborhood in Brooklyn. Did I have any interest in helping? Of course I did!
So I set my sights on baking 12 mini corn bread loaves for her Thanksgiving trays. Because of the volume of baking to be done, I picked a simple recipe and went to town! I’m not eating it this time around, so all I can say is, these smell amazing, and the batter was delicious!
In order to turn the tray bake into loaves, I got 6×2.5×2″ loaf pans (mine are paper) and I baked them for 40 minutes at 350*F, rotating the tray once during the bake to keep everything even. A knife comes out clean – these are good to go to fill some bellies this Thursday.
Interested in the fridges or in how you can get involved to give back to hungry families this holiday season? Check out Clinton Hill Fort Greene Mutual Aide for more information on the fridges, or to donate today.
About the Book
This Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia is a freaking god-send. When I went looking for a corn bread recipe, I found around 20 different regional variations on the corn bread to take my pick from. It’s such a go-to resource, and I know I’ll be cooking again from it frequently. Check out more recipes in the Mary Margaret McBride Collection here!
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
1 cup flour 3 t baking powder 1/2 t salt 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup yellow corn meal 1 cup milk 1 egg, well beaten 1 T melted shortening
Directions:
Mix and sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Stir in corn meal.
Add milk to beaten egg and stir into first mixture. Add shortening and blend.
Turn into shallow, greased 8-inch pan. Bake in hot oven (400*F) about 20 minutes. Cut into 6 squares. Serve hot.
Pork chops are one of my husband’s favorite things to eat, and in truth this is the first time I’ve ever cooked them. This recipe, with its simple execution and easy to find ingredients felt like a good place to start. And actually – it was!
The slow cooking on the pork chops almost stews them so they come out super juicy. The fruit slow cooks into the chops themselves, bringing out a simple sweetness that’s so complimentary to the pork. Definitely a winner here.
One adjustment from me: I substituted half the water out for juice from the can of pineapples.
To make the gravy (just in case!) add about a teaspoon of flour plus a little more as needed and stir it in to thicken.
About the Book
I saw this book in a store and thought – how freaking cute! It’s part of a large (very large) set of cookbooks put out by publisher Peter Pauper in the ’60s. All of the books are this cute, with great illustrations and even better recipes. If you see a Peter Pauper book, snap it up! It’s a great addition to the shelf.
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
4 loin pork chops salt and pepper Flour 4 slices canned pineapple 4 pitted prunes 4 carrots 1/3 cup water
Directions:
Wipe chops and season with salt and pepper. Dust with flour, and place in pan. Upon each chop place a ring of pineapple with a pitted prune in the center. Between chops, place whole carrots, and add water.
Cover. Cook slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Remove to hot platter. Make a gravy from mixture in pan. Pour over chops. Garnish with parsley. Serves 4.
I’ve been planning on making eggplant parm for years. I’ve looked at recipes, bought the eggplant, and then chickened out numerous times. It took a small (COVID responsible) gathering to push me to make it, and all I can say is WOW.
Although it feels like a lot of steps, this is actually a very easy to execute recipe. I paired it with the Basic Red Sauce from the New York Times Cookbook (1961) and it was absolutely divine, especially on a chilly northeast autumn evening.
One quick note to add on this one – It’s worth it to take the time and prep your eggplant slices. As you slice them, lay out the slices on a rack and salt one side. Wait about 10-15 minutes and then flip them and salt the other side. Then wait 10-15 minutes again before you pat them dry and move forward with the egg and bread crumbs steps. It results in a crispier, less slimy eggplant, and the extra steps are well worth it.
About the Book
This book is from the Cooking Magic set released by the Culinary Arts Institute. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites (see the ricotta pie recipe on my Instagram page that I used earlier this year for another example of a phenomenal recipe). The one downside is that the recipes are laid out a little funky, especially compared to modern layouts.
That said, these books are always a winner and they’re still plentiful in the market. If you see one – grab it!
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
Tomato Sauce 4 quarts water 1 T salt 3 cups (8 oz.) noodles 1 eggplant (about 1 lb.) 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1/4 cup undiluted evaporated milk 3 T olive oil 2/3 cup fine, dry bread crumbs 4 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (1 cup, grated) 6 slices (3 oz.) Mozzerella cheese
Directions:
Grease a 2 qt. casserole having a tight-fitting cover. Prepare the sauce and set aside.
Heat to boiling the water and salt. Gradually add noodles, stirring with a fork. Boil rapidly uncovered, 10-15 min, or until noodles are tender. Test tenderness by pressing a piece against side of pan with fork or spoon. Drain by pouring into a colander or large sieve. Set aside.
Wash, pare, and cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices. Set aside.
Combine eggs and evaporated milk. Heat the oil in a skillet. Dip eggplant into egg mixture, then into bread crumbs. Place eggplant in skillet and slowly brown on both sides. Meanwhile, grate and set aside cheese.
Place 1/3 of the drained noodles into the casserole. Top with 1/3 of the eggplant slices. Pour into casserole 1 cup of the sauce. Top with 1/2 of the grated cheese. Repeat layers (including sauce and cheese) ending with eggplant slices topped with sliced cheese.
Cover casserole and bake at 350*F for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until cheese is lightly browned. Serve with remaining sauce.
When I was gifted this cookbook, I did what I always do when I get a clearly well-loved tome – I let it fall open to see where it landed. And it landed on this sauce.
As with most oft made recipes, this one has a ton of notes around it, and they’re all phenomenal. Here’s a close-up of it:
I made it fairly close to as written with the notes adjustments. I also threw in some fresh basil, and I did add a little extra salt.
I was gifted this book by someone close to me. It belonged to their grandmother, and was one an every day cookbook. And in all honesty, I completely understand why. Even today, the New York Times recipes are wonderful, so it’s no surprise that this book delights at every turn.
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped onion 4 cloves garlic, chopped 3 T olive oil 3 1/2 cups canned Italian-style plum tomatoes, undrained (lg. can) 2 small cans tomato paste 2 cups water or meat broth, approximately 1 bay leaf 1/2 t salt (no added salt per note) 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper 1/2 t oregano, or 1/4 t each oregano and basil
Add the oregano and continue cooking about fifteen minutes. Remove the bay leaf. The sauce should be thick. Serve over cooked spaghetti or use as an ingredient in such dishes as eggplant parmigiana, meat loaf, soups and stews.
A Recipe from Fleischmann’s Bake-it-easy Yeast Book (1972)
About the Recipe
After a request for raisin bread from my husband was compounded with a weekly challenge in my favorite vintage cookbook group asking for a dish out of a vintage advertising book, I knew exactly where to turn!
Like many folks out there, yeast breads were scary for me. Little by little I’ve been trying my hand at more loaves. While this one is a little bit quirky with the mashed potatoes and starchy water used as a base, it’s absolutely stunningly delicious. The crust is crunchy and the inside is fluffy.
I used golden raisins, which are my favorite to bake with. This recipe would be very easy to substitute any kind of dried fruit into with success. Also, if you’re like me and don’t keep margarine around, just use a little vegetable oil instead of the melted margarine and it’ll work just fine.
Oh! And since you don’t have the book, here’s are the instructions that are provided on shaping the loaf:
About the Book
This was another book from the Bonnie Slotnick grab bag, and she was so on point sending this my way. It has all of my favorite things – advertising, photographs, tried and true recipes designed to get you buying more! The recipes seem pretty simple and straightforward, and all of your favorite types of yeast breads are included. I can’t wait to bake from it again!
About the Glassware
I pulled out my Fire King Meadow Green loaf pan for this one. Something about milk glass just makes the best bread.
I plated on my Old Town Blue Corelle platter. This pattern was released in 1972, so perhaps mine’s not the first Fleischmann’s Bake-it-easy loaf to find its way on to this platter…
The Recipe!
Ingredients:
1 cup warm potato water (105*F – 115*F) 2 pkgs Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast 3/4 cup warm milk (105*F – 115*F) 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes 6-7 cups unsifted flour 2 tsp salt 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup margarine, melted & cooled 2 cups dark seedless raisins
Directions:
Measure potato water into large warm bowl. Sprinkle in Fleischmann’s Yeast; stir until disolved. Add milk, 2 T sugar, potatoes, and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Cover; let rise until bubbly, about 1/2 hour.
Stir down; add remaining 2 T sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat until smooth. Stir in eggs and margarine. Add enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured board. Knead in raisins. Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest 5 minutes. Roll each half into a 14×9-inch rectangle. Shape into loaves. Place in 2 greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 50 minutes.
Bake at 350* about 45 minutes, or until done. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.
Cooking Vintage 