"I think food is actually very beautiful in itself..." -Delia Smith
Some dishes still served today, which hearken from the Civil
war are as follows: Cold Ham Cake, Pickled Eggs, Pickled
Fish, Hasty Pudding, Scotch Hash, Biscuits, Pot
Pie, Jerky, Swamp cabbage Stew, Salad dressing, Horehound
candy, Gingersnaps ( also known as Hospital Gingerbread since it was given to
invalids)
ABRAHAM LINCOLN’s
GINGER COOKIES (adapted from Eliza Leslie’s receipt book “A useful companion
for large or small families” 1847)
They were invented by medieval Monks in Franconia, Germany.
Earliest recipe record was from 1296 .
They came to America with the colonists.
Tea always included cucumber sandwiches, cakes and gingersnaps. They were first
mentioned in 1805 . When Abraham Lincoln was
in a debate with Stephen Douglas and he told a story about the gingerbread
men his mother made when he was a boy.
Smack the dough with a rolling pin so it will be crisp when
baked. Cut into shapes or circles. Bake in moderate oven, after pricking the
shapes with a fork.
"A great dinner can change your day around."
PICKLED FISH 1865
“Standard ration for army soldiers during Civil War consited
of 10 oz bacon, 1 pound fresh beef, 12 oz dried fish or 16 ounces pickled fish,1 pound corn meal, five times a week. 1
pound of soft bread, or hard bread twice a week. Coffee, tea, sugar for women
and children when necessary.” –Alderson, “Influence of Military Rule”
Take any fish . Scrub. Clean.
Dry. Cut into chunks. Put in a jar with salt, allspice, and horseradish, and
onions. Stuff it up to the brim of the jar. Then put jar in a warm oven for a
few hours. Make sure the oven is the right temp. Too hot and the fish will
bake.
1.Take a mushy cooked potatoe, preferably one that has been around a day or two, and grate it.
2. Add the yoks of two cold
hard boiled eggs that you have saved
for this purpose
3. Put into a clean bowl, with a soup spoonful of dry mustard,
a pinch of salt, a tiny bit of pepper, and cayenne, if you have that in the
pantry. Mix well with a clean wooden spoon.
4. Add a beaten egg , just gathered from your hens, or saved
from the week, and a spoonful of
anchovies, and work together.
5. Stir with your right hand and then with your left as you
pour in oil a bit at a time to form a
gooey paste.
6. Still stirring and switching hands as your hands tire, add
equal amounts of more oil and vinegar.
7. It should become a stiffish white sauce.
8. Add some milk if you have some on hand to dilute the consistency
9. This dressing is good on pickled fish, salads, sandwiches .
Any food that may require extra taste,
or an extra “umpfff”.
If you have
been fortunate to have acquired a couple of chubby pigeons, you an use them
in a delicious pie to which you may
add leftover beef. It will make the pie
less gamey.
To prepare
the pigeons for the pie. Slather butter and salt over the inside and outside of
pigeons. Chop up their livers and lay aside. Season gizzards.
Bake slowly for best flavor. Take the meat, liver
and gizzards, mix with the beef you have waiting on hand. Combine with leftover
vegetables.
Make a quick
pastry, form into the pie pan. Put the ingredients into shell and top with
pastry. Cut a hole in the top and stuff in the wings to look like a flag. It will look most impressive when you bring
it to the table…..feathers and all.
Bake till
pastry is not raw and meat is sizzling.
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