Nicki and Isabel's Unofficial Simpsons Feast

Long time, no see! To put it bluntly (and to get some of the where have you been, and where are you going? Out of the way), Covid really did a number on my enthusiasm for continuing this blog. Between needing to cut down on trips to – sometimes multiple – grocery stores for specialty ingredients and being locked inside with only Jess to help me eat stuff, not to mention a truly awful apartment and everything else that came along with the pandemic years, any enthusiasm I had for exploring food history pretty much shriveled and died.

And then we – finally! – moved back to New England so I could take a job as a museum curator at a small institution on Cape Cod, so that obviously took up quite a bit of our collective brainspace.

 

I didn’t do much with my doll collection during the last few years either, even with the introduction of the 1980’s Courtney Moore and 1920’s Claudie Wells, but an announcement about some even more recent historical characters got me excited about firing up my stove in a way I hadn’t really felt in years.

 

I’m talking, of course, about fellow Millennials Isabel and Nicki Hoffman.

Emily's Wartime Berry Shortbread & VE Day Tea Party

It's the 75th Anniversary of the end of the war in Europe!

Happy VE Day! Today marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, and I've been looking forward to this day literally all year. Longer than a year, because what a good opportunity to revisit some of my favorite wartime recipes with a celebratory party with historian friends! 

Unfortunately, the party turned into me, my wife, and our cat (and Molly and Emily), but I think we still managed to make it a nice occasion. Read on to see more pictures, and learn how to make this simple, ration friendly twist on shortbread.

Addy's Cherry Pie

You weren't the only one who had to celebrate their birthday in quarantine this year...

Alright, so, my plans for this post are definitely not what they originally were. Actually, my plans for this entire month (and the rest of the foreseeable future!) have been really thrown off, and I bet we all can guess why. 

(COVID-19, for anyone who's reading this years in the future, or jumping forward in time to 2020 and wondering where everyone is.) 

I had grand plans for this month, with lots of cool historical recipes to share, and then grocery stores started emptying of the supplies I needed, my job was threatened by closures of repositories and libraries we use to conduct research for our clients, and everyone got a little worried about going outside for any reason, meaning last minute trips out to get one or two niche ingredients seemed ill advised at best and generally really, really irresponsible. Needless to say, I've also been pretty bummed out, and mental health struggles makes doing stuff that requires a lot of energy - like making content for this blog! - hard. 

But I'm lucky that I'm still healthy right now, currently still (fingers crossed) employed, and am quarantined with my awesome wife, who made Addy this awesome birthday pie I'm going to take a minute to share with you. Read on to see some more pictures and some pie facts.

Melody's Pecan Pie

Enjoying a classic Civil Rights era treat!

Pecan pies have always been something of a mystery to me, as they're completely not my family's tradition when it comes to baked goods. Admittedly, maybe that shouldn't come as a shock: they are, after all, pretty iconically a southern food, and my family has lived in different parts of New England since they immigrated here. 

But because pecan pie is such a staple of southern comfort food, it shouldn't come as a surprise that it would have been a popular treat among Civil Rights leaders and activists. Soul food was an important part of the movement, as African Americans encouraged members of their community to embrace and celebrate their heritage by cooking things like collared greens. Martin Luther King Jr.'s favorite dessert was reportedly pecan pie, and so it seemed like a perfect choice for our Melody recipe this February. Read on to find out how to make a historic version of the pie in your own kitchen!

Addy's Alphabet Cookies

Bringing the books to life!

I've talked before about how Addy's mom is one of my favorite American Girl characters. Ruth Walker is an extraordinarily brave woman who always seems to make the best of a bad situation in a way I - an eternal worrier and pessimist - really admire. Her embarrassment about not knowing how to read and Addy offering to teach her by shaping dough into letters in their small room over Ford's Dress Shop is one of my favorite scenes in the series, and Ruth tucking specially made cookies that spell "love" in Addy's lunch pail as a treat on the day of her spelling bee is a really sweet (literally and figuratively) end to Addy Learns a Lesson. 

To recreate this moment, I wanted to find the perfect period recipe, and finally tracked down a good one that's great for leaving creative notes to friends and family. Read on to find out how to make them yourself!

A Peek into the Pantry on the American Girls Podcast!

Listen to us in the kitchen where the blog first got started!

As many of you probably know by now, Jess, Kirsten and I got to do something very special a few months ago, and I'm so excited to finally get a chance to share it all with you guys! 

Florence's Pavlova

An airy treat as delicate as a ballet superstar!

Our last holiday treat of 2019 is the pavlova, a signature dessert of my wife's homeland. Most people who have seen pictures of the "pavs" Jess has made for our family and friends ask if it's a cake, whipped cream, or some other strange concoction, maybe an unbaked Alaska? An ice cream cake? Something else entirely? And the answer is simple: it's a meringue topped with a lot of whipped cream and fruit. 

You can have big pavs, little pavs, in the medium pavs... doesn't matter. When done right, this is a really delicious, refreshing dessert, perfect for celebrating Christmas in Australia because - as many of you know - Australia (and the rest of the southern hemisphere) is actually experiencing summer right now. Australians still enjoy traditional Christmas treats like Christmas puddings and gingerbread, but the high temperatures make things like this an appealing alternative to "traditional" Christmas fare, which is often quite heavy or spiced. 

The pavlova can trace its history back to the 1920's, when Russian ballet superstar Anna Pavolva toured Australia and New Zealand. Both countries claim to be the first to create this dessert in her honor, but as I've married an Australian, I think you know which country I need to support in the debate. Australia also has the slightly stronger argument - in my opinion - because similar dishes spotlighting meringues and whipped cream date back to the early 1900's, meaning my Florrie Girl Florence might have enjoyed a treat similar to a pavlova in her childhood known by a different name. Other similar Australian recipes appear in the early 1920's, still under a different name, and the first known dish to bear the name Pavolva comes from an Australian cookbook published in 1926. 

Sorry, New Zealand.

Molly's Sticky Buns

Celebrate Christmas like the McIntires!

In a sharp contrast to Maryellen's Christmas story, Molly's Surprise is all about how traditions have changed for the McIntires because of the war. With Dad overseas - and no letters from him in weeks! - things were always going to be different, but Mom doesn't have time to decorate, and Molly's grandparents can't come thanks to a flat tire. With a little help from her siblings - and a surprise from Dad - Molly manages to find a way to make the holidays special even with things so different. 

A traditional holiday snack for the McIntires are sticky buns, a cinnamony treat usually smothered in caramel and pecans. As this Christmas was apparently the year I wanted to practice baking with yeast, and I wanted to revisit some of the American Girl books for baking inspiration, I thought these would be a fun thing to try.

Maryellen's Coffee Cake

A recipe straight from the mid 20th century with a long, long history.

Although American Girl has snipped Maryellen's Christmas story from the most recent edition of her books, they sure do seem to like giving her a lot of winter and holiday releases. For those not in the know, Maryellen's Christmas adventure focused on how Maryellen is growing frustrated with her non-traditional Christmas in Florida. Every movie and holiday card depicts Christmas as a day full of snow, with an evergreen tree, sledding, ice skating... you get the idea. She gets it in her head that she wants to have a "real" Christmas, and ends up going to visit her grandparents in slightly colder Georgia. 

After enjoying some of her solo adventure, and getting an opportunity to ice skate, she realizes she misses her family's traditions and wants to go home. The whole story is meant to tie into one of the major themes of Maryellen's series: the 1950's was a period of conformity, but you should follow your heart instead of the crowd. 

One of the traditions the Larkins enjoy is eating a coffee cake on Christmas morning, and I've been contemplating trying my hand at making my own pretty much since her books were released. The recipe I'm going to share with you might not be exactly what you're thinking a good coffee cake should be - and very well might not be the exact kind of coffee cake the Larkins cut into while opening presents - but it is an authentic recipe from the period that made a very tasty final product, and got me doing some research into the history of coffee cake. Read on to see what we discovered!

Jane's Cranberry Cornbread

A cornbread that could have been served at the first Thanksgiving!

I swear I intended to have Jane represent the experience of settlers in Jamestown, but let's be honest: it's hard to ignore Plymouth as a source for early colonization and interactions between Europeans and Native communities, particularly when it comes to exchanging food. 

This corn bread is very different from the corn bread you've probably enjoyed alongside chili and fried chicken, but if you're looking for something that can pass as authentic for your Thanksgiving table, this really fits the bill. Read on to find out how to make this yourself!

Caroline's Molasses Pie

A pie that's really more of a cake, but tasty either way!

Molasses is one of my favorite ingredients to use in dessert. I'm a big fan of chocolate and boring old vanilla (which really isn't that boring) as well, but anything with molasses and spice in it tends to win my heart pretty quickly. 

This unusual pie might not be entirely authentic to Caroline's time period - and actually has its roots in the 1870's, and you may know it as shoofly pie - but molasses would have been so much a part of her life that it just felt fitting to give this one to her. Besides, American Girl doesn't seem that inspired by the 19th century these days, so if you want something done at all, let alone right, I guess I'd better do it myself.

Felicity's Raleigh Tavern Cookies

A trip down memory lane via the oven!

A fun part of starting this blog has meant I've discovered how easy it is to find recipes replicating treats you might have thought you could only enjoy on vacation to places like Disney World or Colonial Williamsburg. These might not always be authentically historic, but I still like giving them a shot because whipping up a batch of Brunswick stew in your kitchen is a lot cheaper than driving all the way to Williamsburg... or hopping on a plane to enjoy Le Cellier's beer cheese soup in Epcot. 

The recipe I'm going to share with you today is a staple of Colonial Williamsburg, and a treat that I always eat at least one or two of on my visits to the museum: Raleigh Tavern ginger cookies. You can smell these fluffy cookies whenever you walk by the bake shop, and Williamsburg even offers to ship them to you via their online store. But if you're hoping to make your own, look no further.

Kit's Appalachian Apple Stack Cake

A cake that could be a real community effort!

Sorry again for the delay. My life post-vow renewal/reception has surprisingly meant even less time and energy for the blog than before, and as much as I miss it, it's kind of been nice to have some time to get the rest of my life back on track. 

What better way to get back in action than to try out this cake that - allegedly - would have been enjoyed at wedding celebrations in Depression-era Appalachia? Read on to see how this unusual, slightly involved cake may or may not have been the hit at weddings from time gone by.

Rebecca's New York Cheesecake

A New York classic you can make far from the Big Apple!

My wife loves cheesecake. I'm not sure I would go as far as to say she's a cheesecake fiend, but she's certainly close. I, however, am not as big of a fan (which is not to say I don't like them, just to be clear), so I haven't actually made very many of them in my time learning to bake and exploring historic recipes. I made one for her birthday based on Perfectly Preserved Pies from Fallout (which you can see on my Instagram), and I've made a very historic cheesecake that the Pilgrims might have enjoyed, but I'd never tried my hand at a very basic, classic New York style cheesecake before. 

Well, now I have, and it was a lot easier and more fun than I expected it to be. Some of that might be because I once again turned to American Cake by Anne Byrd, my favorite cookbook of all time, for guidance, but I think between this and my attempt at Perfectly Preserved Pie have encouraged me to try out a few more cheesecakes down the line. Read on to see how it turned out!

Kaya's Spice Cake with Berry Compote

Recreating an old favorite!

This Kaya inspired recipe barely qualifies as historical, but it's inspired by something I've been dying to recreate in my own kitchen for quite some time: a delicious carrot, parsnip, and spice cake I had at the National Museum of the American Indian during my first visit to their delicious cafe. 

Unfortunately, my version is lacking in parsnips despite my best efforts to find them, but the result was still an extremely tasty treat that I've been enjoying over the last few days, complete with a fresh, tart blueberry compote that I'll definitely be making again. Read on to see how to make it yourself!

Samantha's Wellesley Fudge Cake

A cherished tradition from Wellesley College!

There's something about September that always seems to signal a slow down in my blogging. Whether it's moving to grad school, getting married, planning a vow renewal, or just wiping myself out with an anniversary post, September just hasn't been my strongest month production wise. 

That's my way of apologizing for taking so long to get this one up, and how quickly the next post is going to follow it! I've got quite a schedule I'd like to tackle, so there's no more time to waste. And what better way to get back in action than finally getting to test out one of my favorite cookbooks properly!

Lily's Homemade Anko Paste and Red Bean Popsicles!

Experimenting with new ingredients to make a yummy treat!

Red bean ice cream and other red bean flavored sweets have long been something I go out of my way to sample when a restaurant offers them. For some Westerners, the idea of using beans to make a sweet dish probably sounds a little strange or unappetizing at first, but I've gobbled up everything I've ever come across that's flavored, stuffed with, or otherwise full of this sweet, creamy goodness. 

After Nanea was released and it was confirmed that she had a Japanese best friend, I knew I wanted to make something that either featured red (adzuki) beans, or red bean paste (anko) as a way to investigate the history of one of my favorite treats, and to try my hand at making my own desserts featuring this unique ingredient. 

There was just one problem: finding anko paste!

Felicity's Raspberry Dumplings

A dessert that's both fancy and humble!

Boiled desserts are something that fascinate me. They used to be as American as apple pie, but sometime after we broke free from Great Britain, puddings started losing their appeal, and now they're something of a novelty only, and most modern cooks - including me! - can be a little intimidated by them. 

There's plenty of reasons for that: they're heavy, take a fair amount of time to make, and the flavors and textures can be a hard sell to American audiences who aren't quite sure what to make of them. 

Today, I'm sharing my first ever attempt at a boiled dessert, straight from the recipe archives of Colonial Williamsburg. These interesting dumplings might have graced the table of anyone from Felicity to Governor Dunmore, and were definitely an interesting culinary experiment. Read on to see how it went!

Addy's Strawberry Nut Loaf

A treat Addy, Abraham Lincoln, and Jane Austen might have enjoyed!

In my experience, one of the many benefits of going to grad school is making a whole bunch of fun new friends who share similar dorky interests to you. These friends are then always willing to hook you up with cool things they discover that might catch your eye, leading to a whole lot of fun collaboration on hobby projects as well as actual academic research. 

Take today's post for example: this delicious tea bread comes from a cookbook I was gifted by a good buddy of mine for my birthday... two whole years ago. Sorry it took me so long to try something out, Ashlee! I promise it was worth the wait. Read on to discover the inspiration behind this perfect summer tea treat and the cookbook that clued me into it.

Maryellen's Pineapple Jello Rings & Piña Colada Molded Salad

Two gelatin desserts for the price of one!

It just wouldn't be a trip through the 20th Century without at least one recipe spotlighting the ubiquitous gelatin, right? Well, I've got two for you today: one straight out of the 1950's, and one that's a little more modern. Ironically, I liked the older recipe significantly better than the modern one, enough that I'm planning on bringing it along to my friend's 1970's themed house warming party in a few weeks. Can you guess which one is which? 

Both recipes also feature canned pineapple, and while that treat had been enjoyed by Americans since the turn of the 20th Century when James Dole opened his pineapple plantation on Oahu, it really found new life in the 1950's and 60's. Read on to see how this fruity treat could be adapted to pretty much anything your heart desired.