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Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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I remember my mom used to always make cornbread with cracklins. I haven't seen a cracklin in almost 30 years. Remember when she used to render hog lard for cooking, and we'd wait for the bowl of cracklins and eat them with iced tea. So salty and chewy and fatty and good (she'd sprinke salt on them). These days, you'd probably get some kind of warning on them.
My Grandma came here from Poland, alone, when she was 14 as her family wanted at least one farm person to survive the revolution. They didn't know about cholesterol then so she put bacon grease in just about everything. She would make a stew of saurkraut, onions, tomatoes, garllic, bacon, chopped porkchops and anything else she had on hand. It was the best and when I need to "talk" to her, I make a pot also but not so much with the meat. Sloppy good over mashed potatoes with onions and a wedge of lettuce on the side. The grease Grandma didn't use for cooking was used to make homemade soap, which I still have as a treasure stored in the garage. Her soap was okay for washing dishes but not on your face!
Don't laugh about the wax paper in my kitchen. Wrap your hard cheese in it and see how much longer it will last. We buy the big hunk from Costco so we found it really does work and we save a few dollars.
Heidi my Maternal grandparents came from Poland & Paternal from Italy. I received the great cooking treasures from both Worlds. My children grew up om that pork chop stew, and "Kapusta (sauerkraut) and stuffed cabbage are always made in my home even today. Bacon fat is always in the fridge (that is why they made Lipitor) to counter the bacon fat. "Cashticki? Bow Tie Twist cookies with powdered sugar, my girls still make with "Bobsha's" (grandma's) recipe. I still remember how she made her potato soup with a fresh, light, tomato sauce. And you are right on the money about wax paper. Thank you for the memories.
Little House books I bought the entire series at a Thrift Store in the early 80's for $5.00. They are on my Book Shelves in our Living Room. I would never get rid of them.
I remember reading one of my mothers recipes for cookies---"add 1 T of Heartshorn Amonia, buy at Drug Store, add a Gigger of Liquor
My Grandma came here from Poland, alone, when she was 14 as her family wanted at least one farm person to survive the revolution. They didn't know about cholesterol then so she put bacon grease in just about everything. She would make a stew of saurkraut, onions, tomatoes, garllic, bacon, chopped porkchops and anything else she had on hand. It was the best and when I need to "talk" to her, I make a pot also but not so much with the meat. Sloppy good over mashed potatoes with onions and a wedge of lettuce on the side. The grease Grandma didn't use for cooking was used to make homemade soap, which I still have as a treasure stored in the garage. Her soap was okay for washing dishes but not on your face!
Don't laugh about the wax paper in my kitchen. Wrap your hard cheese in it and see how much longer it will last. We buy the big hunk from Costco so we found it really does work and we save a few dollars.
Heidi my Maternal grandparents came from Poland & Paternal from Italy. I received the great cooking treasures from both Worlds. My children grew up om that pork chop stew, and "Kapusta (sauerkraut) and stuffed cabbage are always made in my home even today. Bacon fat is always in the fridge (that is why they made Lipitor) to counter the bacon fat. "Cashticki? Bow Tie Twist cookies with powdered sugar, my girls still make with "Bobsha's" (grandma's) recipe. I still remember how she made her potato soup with a fresh, light, tomato sauce. And you are right on the money about wax paper. Thank you for the memories.
Little House books I bought the entire series at a Thrift Store in the early 80's for $5.00. They are on my Book Shelves in our Living Room. I would never get rid of them.
I remember reading one of my mothers recipes for cookies---"add 1 T of Heartshorn Amonia, buy at Drug Store, add a Gigger of Liquor
Have a good night everyone. kelsie
My relatives aren't from Poland but the food you are describing sounds delicious! I love sauerkraut and stuffed cabbage....and I've had those little bow tie cookies - a little shortbread cookie - very good.
My grandmotehr and great grandmother cooked with butter, cream, half and half - they drank whole milk - actually my grandmother drank extra-rich milk which was available at one time in the stores in So. California....she was always slender, never had a cavity in her life and no cholesterol problems - died when she was 92.
My great grandmother was from the south and was a wonderful cook....she made scrapple and pickled pigs feet - I ate this sometimes when I was a child and actually liked them....I wouldn't eat them now though.
I found this recipe and it sounds like an approximation of my great grandmother's recipe for scrapple:
In a large 5 quart stock pot or Dutch-type oven, bring the chicken broth to a rapid boil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and pork to the hot liquid, stirring to break up the pork. Stir in the next 6 ingredients. Reduce the heat and let simmer about 5 minutes, then return the liquid to a boil and gradually stir in the cornmeal, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and smooth (about 5 minutes).Spoon the mixture into a sprayed 9 X 5 inch loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerate at least 2 hours. Slice the scrapple into 3/4 inch slices and lightly dust each with flour. In a large skillet or fry pan, heat the oil or drippings over a medium-high heat. Add the floured slices and fry, turning about 2 minutes per side. Serve with syrup.
I found a few more interesting recipes from grandma.
HOMINY MUFFINS
1 cup boiled hominy grits or other cooked cereal
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoons shortening
2 cups corn or wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
Mix together homniy grits, salt, melted shortening, beaten egg, and milk. Add flour which has been sifted with the baking powder. Beat well and bake in a greased muffin tins or a shallow pan in a hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
I found the following in grandma's writing and the measurements are what she told me long ago:
Oven temperatures: Moderate temperature about 360 degrees; Slow oven about 300 degrees; Hot oven about 400 to 425 degrees.
Butter the size of an egg = about 1/4 cup
Butter the size of a walnut = 1 tablespoon
Teacupful = about 3/4 cup
Tumblerful = about 1 cup
Peck = Two dry gallons or 8 dry quarts
Saucerful = One cup
Dash or pinch = what that can be picked up between finger and thumb - less than 1/8 teaspoon
Gill = 1/2 cup
PENUCHE
3 cups of brown sugar
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon butter
Boil without stirring until a little dropped in water hardens like glass then take from the stove and stir rapidly. Flavour with vanilla. Nuts can be added. Pour on buttered plates and cut when hard.
(From 1915 recipe which my grandma got from her mother-in-law, my great grandma, whom I knew before she died in 1963)
HONEY CANDY
1 pint white sugar
Water sufficient to dissolve sugar
4 tablespoons honey
Boil till brittle (test in water). Cool a while then butter your hands and strech until it's white. Stretch into ropes and cut into bite sized pieces.
FONDANT
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
Mix and boil stirring constantly until soft ball stage. Pour on a damp platter without scraping the pan. Let sit in a cool place. When the platter on the bottom feels almost cool, take it off platter and beat the candy until it forms a ball. Work with hands until it feels soft and creamy. Pat out on waxed paper until about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into small pieces. Place on a try and let sit all night. IN the morning dip some pieces into Baker's unsweetened chocolate which has been melted with 1/2 square of paraffin. Take out dipped pieces with a fork. Leave other pieces plain with no chocolate.
(Grandma made this every year for Christmas. I made it one time but used semi-sweet chocolate for dipping which I bought at Michael's. This candy was a lot of work! but good).
SPICED COW TONGUE
Wash tongue carefully. Place tongue in kettle with 1 teaspoon of cloves, 1 teaspoon black pepper, dash of allspice, 1 sliced medium onion. About 2 bay leaves will add to the flavor. Simmer slowly for about 3 to 4 1/2 hours. The skin will begin to curl back when it's done. Remove the tongue from liquid and peel off the skin. Place it back into the cooking liquid for a while so it can absorb the flavors. Slice and serve. Good hot or cold and is good with horseradish.
I found a piece of paper with the following written on it:
"Be grateful for the doors of opportunity and for the friends who oil the hinges."
Mix 8T. butter and 1 1/3 c. mashed potatoes in a bowl, then add 1 1/4 c. flour and 1/2 tsp. salt, mix to form a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Chill for 30 minutes. Roll out to 1/3 inch thick then brush with beaten egg white and cut into 1 x 3" strips. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with carraway seeds. Bake 425 for 12 min. or until lightly browned. (I also like to add a little black pepper)
Cattknap, do you have any Polish restaurants in your area. We have a few but not as many as Ohio.
I love everyone talking about butterscotch but after years of staying away from ice cream stores I finally went in and ordered a butterscotch sundae. Yuk, the sauce had such a strong chemical taste I couldn't eat it. Back to the stove to make my own the next time I want to increase my cholesterol.
Heidi - I don't know of a single Polish restaurant in Louisville! There are many good ethnic restaurants here but not a single Polish one that I could find....I will do further research.
My great grandmother cooked with carraway seeds - cookies, rolls, bread - love them! Maybe we are Polish and I just don' know it :-)
Butterscotch is such a treat - the homemade kind is so easy to make and so delicious....it is something I make during Christmas time only.
Also interesting about waxed paper and cheese - I notice that when I wrap cheese in plastic wrap, the cheese will quickly mold...I'm going to try waxed paper....I always keep some on hand and I also use a lot of parchment paper.
Been reading the Little House books to my kids this last week by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She mentioned a lot of food items I don't recall ever eating. Mince meat pies? WTF is a mince meat pie? Vinegar pie? Here's a thread to drop your old school (Old Timey) recipes on. Kansas Pioneer Vinegar Pie http://www.heritagerecipes.com/pie-r...negar-pie.htm3
Hey There!
I haven't read all of the other responses, but Mince Meat Pies are still popular in Australia and the UK around Christmastime. I've never personally tried them (I'm a vegetarian) but I believe they're dried fruit mixed with spices, sugar and meat, served in pie.
Vinegar Pie on the other hand is AWESOME. I had it for the first time at an old restaurant here in North Carolina called Jarrett House. Their recipe for Vinegar Pie is here. It's delicious- so if you ever get a chance to make it or eat it, I would highly recommend it!
Also, if you're interested in really, really old school recipes and cooking techniques I would suggest purchasing a Boston Cooking School reprint- although you can read the original online here. Also, there's a book called 'Perfection Salad' by Laura Shapiro which is non-fiction about cooking in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Heidi - I don't know of a single Polish restaurant in Louisville! There are many good ethnic restaurants here but not a single Polish one that I could find....I will do further research.
My great grandmother cooked with carraway seeds - cookies, rolls, bread - love them! Maybe we are Polish and I just don' know it :-)
Butterscotch is such a treat - the homemade kind is so easy to make and so delicious....it is something I make during Christmas time only.
Also interesting about waxed paper and cheese - I notice that when I wrap cheese in plastic wrap, the cheese will quickly mold...I'm going to try waxed paper....I always keep some on hand and I also use a lot of parchment paper.
Don't worry about finding a Polish restaurant, it was just a curiousity question. Grandma would go to the Catholic church on Saturday and get together with her friends to make pierogi to sell. She never would tell me how she maded them at home but they were the best!
I really miss boxed date bar mix the grocery stores used to sell. I can't get the same results at home.
I also like to make a (carraway) seed cake which isn't as sweet as some others. And, don't forget the walnut butterscotch sauce for ice cream. Getting old sucks as I really don't handle sweets,or caffine, as well as I used to. So, back to making the black bean burgers for hubby's lunches.
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) to counter the bacon fat. "Cashticki? Bow Tie Twist cookies with powdered sugar, my girls still make with "Bobsha's" (grandma's) recipe. I still remember how she made her potato soup with a fresh, light, tomato sauce. And you are right on the money about wax paper.
Thank you for the memories.
