Pie of Carrots, Potatoes, Peas, Potato Crust
Cucumber, Lettuce Salad
French Dressing
Bread Pudding
Lemon Sauce
The Good
Okay, the pie turned out pretty good. My nod to commercially prepared foods was in the canned peas I used in the pie. It was basically a vegetarian version of a shepherd's pie. Instead of flavoring the white sauce for the filling with Worcestershire sauce, I used an herb seasoning salt - and the pie smelled so good! Tasted yummy, too. You know what's funny about the recipe for the Mashed Potatoes that topped this dish? They're seasoned with salt and white pepper. And I think the only reason it's not black pepper is esthetic. That they wanted the Mashed Potatoes to be as pure in color as possible.
My cookbook contained a recipe for a Cucumber Salad and a Tomato, Lettuce Salad, so I combined the two to make a Cucumber, Lettuce Salad. 1940s tastebuds leaned toward salt, so the sliced cucumber was salted and refrigerated before being served on a bed of iceberg lettuce. I prefer my cucumber straight up, but I think that a preference for that fresh, veggie taste is probably a more modern sensibility. '40s cooks tended to really mix things up when it comes to their produce.
The Bad
I think I've only eaten Bread Pudding once before and it was very good. A little moist for my taste, but nice, big cubes of bread with cherries and cinnamon. My mom may even have added nuts. My Bread Pudding? Not so delicious. The recipe called for bread crumbs rather than cubed bread, so I ended up with more of a very thick cake batter. The Pudding was flavored with vanilla, nutmeg, and raisins. When I first read through the recipe, it mentioned setting the baking pan in a pan of hot water and baking the whole affair in a moderate oven. Sounds like steaming, right? I jumped at the chance to do some steaming again, but I think the author of the cookbook actually meant that I should bake the Pudding in a steamy oven. In any event, it was far from finished after an hour in the steamer. I popped it in the oven, but I'd honestly forgotten just how moist a Bread Pudding is supposed to be, so it was two hours later before I decided the Pudding was never going to be dry in the center... Blech! It was tough and rubbery on the outside, mushy on the inside, and the raisins and nutmeg - they're an acquired taste. A very vintage taste, I suppose.
The Ugly
My Lemon Sauce was pure, unmitigated disaster. I've never used a double boiler - never even owned a double boiler - but a larger saucepan set on top of a smaller saucepan did a decent job. I should give the recipe the props it deserves. It looked like it might have been a nice sauce. Unfortunately, I started it in my only remaining pot with that old "non-stick" coating. You know... the kind where the black coating eventually flakes off into your food. (All my other pots and pans are stainless steel.) The recipe instructed me to beat the butter into the sauce and - I could kick myself! - but I reached right for the electric beater I'd taken out for the mashed potato topping on my pie and hadn't used. I soooooooooo should've used a whisk. My lovely Lemon Sauce ended up with all these little black specks floating about in it! Completely inedible.
Time to do a little decluttering of the cookware cabinet.
15 comments:
sounds like you need some new cookware...
i've never made bread pudding.. but yes, sound like you were supposed to bake it in a water bath....
i've made bread and butter pudding...
i quite like nutmeg myself though
Oh, poor you. Nothing more depressing than a terrible cooking experience. It seems like such a terrible waste of time and resources, doesn't it? Better luck next week.
The vegetarian pie sounds good. Sorry about the bread pudding. Sometimes that just happens. I'm impressed that you are trying it all.
The pie sounds great and I am sorry that your sauce didn't turn out.
I think the recipe may have asked you to bake the bread pudding in a water bath to stop the sides of the pudding cooking faster than centre...therefore allowing the entire pudding to cook at the same rate.
A water bath, eh? I've never heard of that, but it sounds like it might have done a better job of baking this baby. I think part of the reason I didn't like what I ended up with is that I had completely forgotten that Bread Pudding is supposed to be moist - even when it's finished!
Nutmeg is kind of hit or miss with me. I like it in combination with some things, not so much with others. The Lemon Sauce actually called for a dash of nutmeg and it really worked with the lemon. Took the edge off the tartness, I think.
I'm feeling a little better this morning. Last night I felt crummy about wasting food, but I think the Pudding and Sauce are the only real losses. I only made one serving of Salad and the leftover Pie will definitely be eaten - thought I may add some cheese to it! It's back to 2009 tonight...
Thank you all for commiserating!
I think it's time for new cookware! You don't even have to buy a whole new set all at once (I know that can be pricey!!). Just run to Target or Wal-Mart and pick up some of their open-stock peices. At least then you'll be able to eat your lemon sauce next time!
PS: I've never been a fan of bread pudding either! >;0P
Oh, I adore bread pudding, but it does need to be done properlly. I bake mine. In fact I just 'made up' a great recipe ( I put it on my latest post) for a bread pudding where I had used up some box cake that didn't taste as good as my homemade. And I ADORE nutmeg, cinnamon, and raisins together. Just the thought of it makes me think of christmas. Ahhh. Hope it works out better. ALso, I am not sure if you meant what you wrote, but you said for a double boiler you places a larger pan over a smaller one, that can't be what you meant?! I don't have a double boiler (though it is on my vintage list of wants) I take one of my big cooking kettles, like you would use for lobster or speaghetti, and set the water to boil, once it is at a rolling boil, I put my saucepan into it so it floats on the water and the handle keeps it from falling in. This is also a great way to make lemon curd, which is heavenly!
oh what a bummer about your lemon sauce, I make lemon honey every autumn here and usually it turns out well.
I'm so sorry to hear about your meal! I know how disappointing it is when a recipe doesn't turn out as you planned. At least this is an excuse for you to buy a new pot or two! And your pie sounds pretty yummy. Good luck next time; I'm looking forward to seeing what you make next.
Sorry that your meal didn't turn out, but cheers to you for trying! I am impressed with the efforts you are making towards cooking meals for yourself. That was something that I never could do. My son would go to his Dads for a visit and I'd live on peanut butter sandwiches! Couldn't bring myself to dirty all those dishes for just me! So well done you!!
You definitely need new pots though. And I have been thinking about your 1940s diet without the protein. You mentioned "back to 2009" in this post. Are you mostly eating a "modern" diet?
I'm really enjoying your posts!
Awww... it's my vintage cookery recovery group! JK - it was kind of a mixed bag of a meal, but definitely an interesting experience. And, yes, it's time to retire that last piece of T-Fal. Come to think of it, you probably shouldn't use your beater directly in any piece of cookware!
I do need at least one medium-sized pot and a new lid for my smallest pot. 50s gal, my "make do" arrangement worked (the Lemon Sauce didn't burn), but the pot on top starting tipping onto its side every time I bumped into it. I'd love to have a real double boiler - which will be handy since there seems to be a lot of cooking "on top of water" in these 1945 recipes!
Mrs. G, I'm a vegetarian, so I'm omitting whatever meat there is in these vintage menus (there is a little - even in 1945!). It may not seem like there's any protein in meals like these, but whole grains, starchy vegetables, beans, and dairy/eggs are a great source for protein!
I'm eating the vintage menus for breakfast every morning and one dinner per week. The rest of the time (for now), it's all about modern fare. Eventually, I'd really love to integrate everything and enjoy some of the modern foods and flavors we appreciate in 2009 while putting some of these "vintage" cooking skills to work.
Hey Jitterbug!
Do go ahead and invest in a double boiler as it will make your life easier to have one especially for vintage recipes. Some of these can be adapted to the microwave and some just really need a double boiler.
Chin up, we've all had our share of kitchen boo-boos. :)
Sorry about your disasters, but hey, you are new at this. Give yourself some slack! :) We "long time cookers" have made and still make mistakes, too (soggy or crunchy rice, overcooked pasta, fallen cakes, tough pie pastry, hard biscuits, misread recipes, etc.)
Some of us had a major advantage in the "cooking department" - I started cooking when I had to stand on a stool to reach the stove. And, I had my mom, grandmothers, several aunts, a 4-H leader, neighbors, Godmothers, and older cousins around to show or explain how to do things. (And, I was a home ec major in college.)
Hints:
If you make bread pudding again, try a teaspoon or so (depending on the amount you are making) of cinnamon instead of nutmeg. Nutmeg can sometimes be bitter.
For safety sake, never use an electric mixer with hot batter/liquid unless the recipe calls for doing so.
If you want to be historically correct, try to find a (used) hand egg beater that works (gears should mesh smoothly). New ones (about $17-$25) are available through kitchen catalogs.
Don't use metal utensils in coated cookware. If you use coated cookware, be modern and get a heat resistant coated whisk. Use wooden spoons and/or heat-resistant plastic spatulas, pancake turners, and spoons.
When you buy your new cookware, make sure it is heavy duty stainless steel with aluminum clad bottoms. Some of the new cookware - including Revereware and Faberware - is now made of thinner metal than the toy cookware my daughter had when she was little! (Not kidding!) The lightweight cookware will warp as soon as you use it and everything you cook will scorch on the inside bottom.
Also, if you watch the sales at stores like Macy's you can buy a several piece set for about what purchasing 2 individual pots would cost. By doing this, you will save enough money to buy a piece or two to fill in a size or type of pan that might not be in the set. (I just purchased a set of pans for my daughter. I'd been watching and looking for about 3 years. I really lucked out. I paid just under $100.00 for a brand new still-in-the-box set that someone had unearthed from a storage room.) Another option would be to check out estate sales and stores that sell used items.
(In reality, up until the early 1970's my grandmother used cast aluminum pans. Those are now a no-no for cooking fruits and vegetables. We still use one of hers for candy making, though.)
If you are really careful, you don't always have to use a double boiler. If you have a heavy duty pan and use a lower heat setting and stir constantly you can often get by without. Also, those little wire racks that hold the pot above the burner helps, too.
Do you have/use cast iron? If you or anyone else needs help with how to care for it, give me a holler.
If you ever need help or advice about cooking something, please ask. I (and I'm sure others) will be glad to help. You can email me from my blog profile.
Hairball, one of the other "make do" suggestions I've seen for anybody needing to double boil without a double boiler --- if you own a metal mixing bowl with one of the rounded bottoms, fit that into the top of your saucepan and heat your sauce or what not into the mixing bowl while water boils in the pan below.
Packrat, I don't know what on earth made me reach for the electric beaters. They should certainly not have been used with anything hot. I don't plan on ever puchasing any additional coated cookware. I much prefer the sturdy steel variety. There's nothing a little steel wool can't scrub away with a little elbow grease behind it! I'm sure I'm bound to make lots more mistakes along the way, but I guess you can't learn to cook without doing so. They'll probably get farther between along the way...
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