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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

Melody's Tomato Watermelon Salad

A tasty dish with some difficult history.

Today we're featuring a recipe that involves some pretty dark moments in American history. This watermelon tomato salad from the Sweet Home Cafe Cookbook published by the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a very interesting, refreshing side dish to any summer get together, but features an ingredient that has a pretty complicated and often upsetting history in the Black community. Its reputation as such is the fault of white supremacists looking to put down Black entrepreneurs in the wake of the Civil War. They took a symbol of Black freedom and entrepreneurship and turned it into an icon of Jim Crow America. 

I'm speaking, of course, about the watermelon.

Kirsten's Vinegar Lemonade

A trail recipe that should probably stay that way...

Some recipes have genuinely made me wonder am I a little crazy, a glutton for punishment, or both. This time, I'm pretty sure it's both. 

Maybe it was leftover confidence from how well my vinegar pie came out three years ago or just my ongoing commitment to trying out bizarre historical recipes, but I'm going to say this right up front: unless you're a settler making your way to Oregon in 1847, I wouldn't recommend trying this one at home.

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.

Melody's Luau Lulu

A super unusual sandwich from 1960!

This last post in my Hawaii inspired series is one of the most unusual sandwiches I've ever eaten. I know the ingredients are probably going to be a bit of a hard sell to some readers - even I was pretty dubious about how it would actually taste! - but trust me, this treat from 1960 is definitely not to be missed. 

But I can't take credit for discovering this unicorn of a sandwich. I was first introduced to it by reading The Mid-Century Menu, one of my favorite historic cooking blogs. If you aren't reading Retro Ruth's stuff, you're really missing out! Check out her post about the Luau Lulu, and read on to see how our version turned out!

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.

Molly's Hawaiian Banana Bread

A banana bread recipe from 1943!

It's been a while since we turned to the book that inspired many a childhood fantasy of fancy themed parties with historically accurate games, crafts and food: The American Girl Party Book was something I frequently flipped through to admire all the fun party ideas as a kiddo. My mom and grandma helped organize and throw my really amazing ninth birthday party with lots of ideas straight from this book, and it's still provided a lot of inspiration for posts for the blog... as well as future themed parties once I finally have a living space (and paycheck) big enough to entertain and decorate the way I'd like to. 

One of the Molly parties is themed around Hawaii, offering suggestions for making your own leis, tropical themed drinks and snacks, as well as invitations and games. Just as Samantha's Nutting Party or Felicity's Twelfth Night Party are representative of actual parties people in the past celebrated, Molly's Hawaiian themed party is wholly authentic to the 1940's, and features recipes that are just as "faux Hawaii" as the recipes marketed in home magazines, advertisements, and cookbooks of the period were. Read on to find out more about this trend!

Nanea's Pineapple Nut Cake

Authentically Hawaiian, starring some of the most famous imports to the islands!

If you guessed pineapple after reading my last post, you'd be right! There was no way to avoid the pineapple in this little month long feature I'm running, and really, why would you want to? They're delicious, and extremely versatile in dessert, drinks, and much more. They're a great source of Vitamin C, although if you eat too much of it in one sitting, you can end up burning your mouth thanks to the bromelain enzyme, which digests protein. 

That's right: your pineapple is taking a bite out of you while you eat it! 

This very dense cake also guest stars a second famous "Hawaiian" ingredient, and it comes from my favorite Hawaiian cookbook. I bet some of my readers remember which one that is! Read on to find out how to make it yourself.

Rebecca's Banana Drop Cookies

A perfect way to use up ripe bananas!

Summer is already here in the Mid-Atlantic, which means this month I'm breaking out some appropriately tropics inspired recipes to share with all of you! 

As long time readers know, a lot of my research during my graduate program centered on the tiki bar and tiki culture, the Polynesia inspired craze that swept America in the midcentury and shaped American's perceptions of what life was like in the tropics. You can read some more about my research in last year's post about Crab Rangoon dip. 

But tiki bars weren't the only ways Americans expressed their obsession with Polynesia, as the next several posts on this blog will reveal. Hawaiian inspired recipes were a staple of the 20th Century, from 1960's luau themed parties and countless recipes spotlighting pineapple. This early example of Americans using Hawaii as an inspiration for recipe writing comes from the late 1910's, and results in a fluffy, delicious cookie that's definitely going to be a hit with your friends and family.

Maryellen's Sweet Story Cake

A retro recipe due for some time in the spotlight!

Have you been wondering what to make for Valentine's Day this year? Look no further! This vintage cake is the perfect thing for a dessert that's just a little bit different, but in a way you're sure to love. 

At least, that was my experience with it. I know I'm often quick to say I have a new favorite dessert recipe after trying out a historical or historically inspired recipe, but this cherry and almond flavored cake had a really unique flavor that totally made it worth hand pearling the decoration. Read on to see how to make this vintage 1948 recipe yourself!

Breakfast from Addy's Cook Book

A peek into Ruth Walker's kitchen!

Next up in my slow, slow attempt at cooking everything in the original Pleasant Company historical character cookbooks are the breakfast offerings from Addy’s Cook Book. After 2017’s success at making everything on Samantha’s breakfast menu, I decided a long term goal for the blog would be making the full course meals included in these cookbooks. It’s quite an undertaking, and so I don’t think I’ll be churning out one every month, but it had been a while since I’d featured an Addy recipe and decided she seemed like a good candidate for the full course meal treatment. 

Like Samantha’s breakfast, Addy’s menu is filled with things that are both historically something the character might have eaten for a fancy, full breakfast, and are still largely familiar items to modern Americans: grits, sausages, gravy, biscuits, fried apples and scrambled eggs. I enlisted the help of my wife to help me prepare everything and we invited two of our neighbors over to enjoy this peek into dining in the past. Read on to see how it went!

Nanea's Wartime White Fruitcake

The fruitcake people actually want to eat!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaway! It was a lot of fun reading about everyone's favorite holiday recipes. And congratulations again to Shannon! I hope you and your dolls enjoy your set of rum balls from Pippaloo. 

Today, we're going to be tackling a classic but controversial holiday treat: fruitcake. When I told people I was going to be giving this a shot, almost everyone's reaction was instinctively very negative. I've met very few people in my life who have genuinely liked fruitcake, or who are even willing to give it a try, although funnily enough my wife fits both categories and was genuinely excited to see how this came out. 

Part of the reason why it's such a hard sell to people is because the perception is that they're very artificial, stale, or just generally old and bad. Countless people have joked about having a crazy great-aunt who gifts everyone the same fruitcake year after year, or using it as a door stopper instead of eating it. I must be crazy for giving this a shot, right? 

Wrong! Spoilers, but this 1940's recipe for fruitcake was a lot tastier than I was expecting. It's also got some really cool history, and I'm very pleased to be sharing it with you guys.

Kit's Raisin Spice Cake

A thrifty way to spread some holiday cheer!

Great Depression holiday recipes are a little hard to come by, and without a waffle iron (or Kit's waffle iron...), I'm kind of out of luck making Kit's signature holiday treat. I'd considered making some of the cookies from her cookie set, but it looks like timing wise, that's going to have to wait until next year thanks to a slightly inconvenient work project. At least I already have an idea for next December! 

What I ended up making instead was an interesting version of a frugal, holiday appropriate cake. It actually reminded me of a better version of a recipe we made a few years ago... and doesn't include any salt pork!

Jane's Apple Pie in a Mug

Just the thing if you need a quick fall treat!

So after talking all about apples in early America in my last post, I decided to roll the clock even further back. One thing I don’t think a lot of people realize is just how few comforts of home early European settlers to the Americas actually had. It took a really long time to import and cultivate crops, and farming techniques you were familiar with back in Europe didn’t always translate to New England or Virginia. 

It also meant you had to make some tough decisions about what kind of crops you brought first. Sweet apples weren’t cultivated in early Jamestown. Instead, their bitter cousins were grown for – you guessed it – cider! So kids like Jane would have had to learn to make do without some old favorites, including apples paired with cheese. 

This very modern take on apple pie is a quick, easy way to bring a taste of a very classic pairing. Ready in minutes, it can be enjoyed year round and doesn’t involve fussing with pastry! What’s not to love?