It's Eight O'Clock Somewhere

Do you remember when Consumer Reports ranked Eight O'Clock Coffee the best brand of Colombian coffee? I don't make coffee at home very often - it's free at work - but I've been impatiently waiting for my supply to run out so I could try some Eight O'Clock for myself. When I finally reached the bottom of the can, I put coffee on my grocery list and picked up a bag of Eight O'Clock in whole bean form, grinding it at the supermarket. It was priced somewhere in the neighborhood of $7. More than I'd usually pay for coffee, but an affordable luxury if I'm only making coffee at home once or twice a week. There was an air of excitement about the Jitterbug place yesterday morning as I measured the Eight O'Clock into my Drip-O-lator... Well, it turned out to be a great cup o' joe! A very smooth flavor without any of the aftertaste I've gotten used to with store brand coffee. In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd post some tips on coffee making from The American Woman's Cook Book (1945). First, the all-important measurement:

For weak coffee, use 1 level tablespoon coffee to 1 cup water.

For medium coffee, use 2 level tablespoons coffee to 1 cup water.

For strong coffee, use 3 level tablespoons coffee to 1 cup water.

There were all kinds of methods for making coffee in the '40s. Drip coffee makers - the ancestors to our modern Mr. Coffee - seem to have been the most popular as the cookbook addresses these first:

FILTERED OR DRIP COFFEE - There are many coffee-pots on the market for making filtered coffee. They all contain some sort of a strainer which allows the water to drip through the coffee very slowly. Pulverized coffee should be used for this method. Place the coffee in the strainer and pour boiling hot water over it. If the infusion is not strong enough, refilter it. Serve immediately. Glass tricolators of oven glass ware are excellent for making filtered coffee, as they hold the heat well.

BOILED COFFEE - Put the coffee into the pot with the white of an egg or some egg-shells and a little cold water and stir all together thoroughly. Pour boiling water over it and place on the stove. Cover the spout of the coffee-pot or stuff it will paper to preserve the aroma. As soon as it boils up, reduce the heat and allow it to settle. A quarter of a cup of cold water poured in will cause the coffee to settle more quickly. Do not allow it to become muddy by careless pouring. To avoid this, decant it into a hot serving-pot.

PERCOLATED COFFEE - Use the correct size percolator for the number to be served. Measure fresh-running cold water into pot to same number of cups. Measure coffee, finely ground or pulverized into the basket, using 1 heaping tablespoonful to cup of water. Use medium hot or flame until percolating begins, then lower flame and continue for 8 to 10 minutes, when the liquid in the glass cap is light brown or deep amber. Serve at once. Prolonged percolating dissipates the fine aroma and flavor.

Has it really been a week since my last vintage dinner? I don't think I've shared the results yet. Here's the menu:

Peanut Roast

Pennsylvania Cabbage Slaw with Sour Cream Dressing

Dried Apricot Cake

The recipe for Peanut Roast was clearly the dream of some well-intentioned person with a misconception that protein can come from a limited variety of sources. Desperate to put some protein on the table during wartime, the author combined a whole mess of chopped peanuts with onions, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, and "pea pulp" (I used a can of condensed green pea soup). They suggested serving it with a cream sauce --- and I can see why. It's a very dry dish. You'd definitely want to smother it with something creamy and flavorful! This one didn't even get turned into leftovers, but I tried to finish my plate and thanked God that we've discovered soy since Peanut Roast was dreamed up.

The Pennsylvania Cabbage Slaw was absolutely lovely! A quick and dirty version of cole slaw, and a cool side dish that'd be perfect for a summer evening. The Dried Apricot Cake was very good as well. I chose it from the cookbook when I realized the Apricot Whip originally on the menu was made with raw egg whites. The Dried Apricot Cake was sweet and moist and pretty easy to make once I'd finished stewing the apricots. It's funny to me still that I can actually leaf through a cookbook now and find any number of recipes where I've already got all the ingredients at hand. The bennies of a well-stocked pantry! I'm going to post the Pennsylvania Cabbage Slaw recipe as it was definitely the star of the show last week. Any Keystone Staters out there who know why this dish is named after Pennsylvania?

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PENNSYLVANIA CABBAGE SLAW

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 green or red pepper, cut fine

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Sour Cream Salad Dressing [see below]

Mix shredded cabbage, pepper and salt; pour dressing over cabbage and mix well. Makes 6 portions.

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SOUR CREAM SALAD DRESSING

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons vinegar [I used apple cider vinegar]

1 cup sour cream

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Makes 1 cup.

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