This is the third in a four-part series showcasing Grandma’s recipes submitted by readers to the Montgomery Advertiser back in 1940, but there are still plenty of delicious recipes to come, and Lost Recipes is proud to bring them to you, along with the memories.
But if you happen to come across a special family heirloom, we’d love to encourage you to make one. Send us photos and videos at sheupel@gannett.com.
Don’t forget, there’s still one more week left in this series, so be sure to come back next week to find more treasures for your late grandmas!
more:Lost Recipes Part 1: Discovering Grandma’s Treasure Chest of Recipes
Devil’s Food Cake
Mrs. W. A. Goolsby, of Cherry Street, Montgomery, sent me a recipe for a devil’s food cake that is simply heavenly: you’ll need 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 4 egg yolks, 3 cups flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 cup sour milk, 1 cup boiling water, 2 teaspoons cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Mix the cocoa with boiling water, then add the baking soda. Allow to cool. Cream the shortening well and beat the sugar until fluffy. Add the beaten egg yolks and vanilla. Beat again. Add the baking powder to the sifted white flour and slowly mix together. Add the sour milk as well. Add the chocolate mixture to it, then the stiffly beaten egg whites and mix together. Do not beat again. Pour this into a greased triple layer cake tin. Once the cake is baked, decorate it with white icing.
more:Lost Recipes Part 2: 5 Amazing Dishes My Grandma Taught Me
Delicious chicken pie
Mrs. J. Bolling Hall of Deatsville sent a very Southern-style chicken pot pie with a biscuit crust.
First of all, this is not a simple recipe. You need fresh chicken, preferably a fat hen. You spend a day preparing the chicken, removing inedible parts such as the head and feathers, and salting it. The next day, you wash the chicken and boil it until it is tender. Depending on the thickness of the chicken, you will need half a cup of butter, two tablespoons of flour, one cup of milk, and four boiled eggs cut into small pieces. (Is it weird to use eggs from the hen you are cooking with?)
Cut the boneless chicken into small pieces and keep aside. Blend the flour with a little water into a smooth paste and add it to the water in which the chicken was boiled, along with butter, milk and boiled eggs. This will create a thick gravy. Then add the chicken, salt and pepper to taste. Place the biscuit dough in a deep frying pan, about 1/4 inch thick. Pour the chicken gravy mixture on top. Use more of the biscuit dough to create a crust for the top of the pan and poke holes in it with a fork. Cook the biscuit crust until it browns.
more:Lost Recipes Part 4: A Final Look at Seven “Secret” Grandma Recipes from 1940
Brunswick Stew
Mrs. W. C. Wingard of Selma provided us with a generous serving of Brunswick stew using this recipe.
You will need four cans of tomatoes, three cans of corn, one can of okra, three pounds of Irish potatoes, two pounds of onions, one whole chicken, one and a half pounds of ground beef or pork, one stick of butter, chicken stock, red pepper, black pepper, and salt.
Boil the chicken until tender and remove the bones. Boil the potatoes and mash until smooth. Fry the ground beef and drain. Chop the onion and boil. Then mix all the ingredients together and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
Attractive vegetable dishes
Mrs. R. E. Matthews, of Highland Avenue, Montgomery, was ready to tempt you with her veggies and bacon. Bacon makes everything tastier. This recipe calls for 1/4 pound of bacon, plus 1 pound of new potatoes, 1 pound of fresh snap peas, 1 lemon, and 2 pounds of firm green cabbage.
Put the bacon in a pot and add 3 cups of water. Add the whole beans and top with the potatoes. Simmer gently for about an hour. Season lightly with salt and pepper. When cooked, remove the potatoes. Cut the cabbage into thick slices and arrange it lengthwise in the pot on top of the beans. Squeeze half a lemon over the cabbage and simmer for about 25 minutes until tender. Then, being careful not to break the cabbage, arrange it on a large plate. Place the beans around the edge and the potatoes in the middle. And, of course, there’s bacon in the middle of all these vegetables.
Onion soup
Grace Thompson of Notasulga shares her easy recipe for an onion soup you’ll want to drink down to the last drop: 1 cup finely chopped onion, 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons flour, 2 bouillon cubes, 2 cups hot water, 1 cup milk, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Sauté onion in butter until caramelized. Remove pan from heat and add salt and flour, stirring well. Combine bouillon cubes and boiling water, stirring until dissolved. Add bouillon water to onion mixture. Heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add milk. Heat to boiling. Serve immediately.
Try it out
If you decide to try one of these lost recipes, send us a photo and your thoughts on the end result by sending an email with the subject line “Lost Recipe” to reporter Shannon Heupel at the Montgomery Advertiser. in email address.
