A Country Rag--Every Day Matters

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A Country Rag Every Day Matters

Graphic above: Creation, digitized collage by jH

Grandma's Cookin' -- Part 2

by Caroline Freedom Ross

(Click graphic below for Adobe format page view of Grandma's cookbook)

Grandma's cookbook, click for Adobe format page view

My grandma’s cookbook is my one real treasure. Published in the 1800s, the book is so old it cannot be rebound, so it is kept in an acid-free box, away from the elements. Lillie Irma May Smith Cooper (Miss Lillie) was born May 13, 1895. The cookbook was her Mammy’s (my great grandmother), who got the book when she purchased her stove from the Wrought Iron Range Co., St. Louis, MO.

I associate the book with my grandma’s hands. Gnarled, liver spotted and strong, I watched those hands aptly wring the neck of a chicken, and then she spent hours at the sink plucking the feathers, all the while carrying on a conversation without break. Her kitchen walls were lined with shelves, each shelf stocked with summer-canned vegetables from her garden. She could always put together a great meal when we showed up on her doorstep.

From her cookbook, then, are the recipes that fed my childhood. May they feed you too.

Canapes for Game

Specilly prepared toast on which roast small game and birds are served, holding them as placed on the serving plate: Cut slices of stale loaf bread about 1½ inches thick, either cross-section or lengthwise according to the size of the bird; trim neatly all around into an oblong shape, then cut out some of the center to form a recess in which the back of the bird may rest; butter well, lay on baking sheet or tin, put in hot oven and let toast to an even golden brown; ready for serving.

Quails and Partridges

Roast- Dress and prepare as any other bird for roasting, handling them carefully and delicately; truss them, and lay a thin layer of larding fat on the breast of each; lay them in roasting pan, spreading a little butter on each, and moisten with ½ cup water; season with salt and pepper; roast in a brisk oven – 18 minutes for quails and 25 minutes for partridges – basting frequently; untruss, and dress each bird upon a canapé, and garnish with parsley or cresses; strain gravy in bowl and serve separately. May be served with other choice sauces if desired.

Braised – Prepare as above; season, lard, and spread with butter; put into frying pan with a piece of pork rind, ½ carrot, and ½ onion, both chopped or thinly sliced, and any herbs desired; sauté to a nice golden brown, then moisten with ½ cup water, and place in oven and cook 20 minutes; serve with celery sauce.

– Prepare for cooking, and split each bird through the back without separating the halves; spread on a plate and season each with salt and pepper, and brush all over with salad oil, breaking leg joints to flatten them out; put to broil over moderate fire, and broil 6 minutes for quail, 7 minutes for partridges, on each side; serve on toast with butter sauce.

Or: Prepare and broil exactly as in Oven Broiled Chicken.

FriedDress quail, split each lengthwise into separate halves, and proceed exactly as for Fried Chicken, removing from pan just as soon as cooked through.

Roast Pigeons

Dress and cleanse pigeons, ready for roasting. In each, place a lump of butter the size of a pigeon egg, which has been rolled in finely chopped parsley, pepper, and salt; place them in roasting pan, dust with flour, and baste with a little hot butter, while roasting in hot oven about 20 minutes; serve on hot dish with creamed asparagus, a garnish of parsley sprigs, and butter sauce.

Broth Stewed Pigeons

Unless pigeons are quite young they are better braised or stewed in broth than cooked in any other manner. In fact, it is always the best way of cooking them. Tie them in shape; place slices of bacon at the bottom of a stewpan; lay in the pigeons side by side, all their breasts uppermost; add a slice of carrot, an onion with a clove stuck in, a teaspoon of sugar, and some parsley, and pour over enough stock to cover them. If you have no stock use boiling water. Now put some thin slices of bacon over the tops of the pigeons; cover them as closely as possible, adding boiling water or stock when necessary. Let them simmer until they are very tender. Serve each pigeon on a thin slice of buttered toast with a border of spinach, or make little nests of spinach on pieces of toast, putting a pigeon into each nest.

Squabs

Broiled on Toast – Dry pluck, singe, draw, cut off necks, wipe neatly, and truss fine, large squabs; split them without detaching halves, lay them on a dish, and season each with ½ tsp salt and a little pepper evenly sprinkle on, and cover each well with a teaspoon salad oil; broil 6 minutes on each side; arrange each squab on two pieces of toast, and serve with butter sauce made by blending 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley, juice of ½ lemon, and a little grated nutmeg; serve sauce on top and garnish with a slice of broiled bacon if desired.

Roasted, plain – Prepare fine, small squabs as above; do not split them, but truss as you would a chicken; place them in a roasting pan, sprinkle with a little salt, and spread ½ teaspoon butter over each; put pan into brisk oven and roast 12 minutes; remove, untruss, dress on a hot dish, placing each bird on a canapé of golden brown toast; garnish as desired; skim fat from gravy and make into a white sauce, serving it separately.

Graphic: multimedia by Margaret Gregg, Abingdon VA

Video above: popular professional author, sports writer, musician/songwriter Alan Ross's song for the author, his wife. (Check ACR's Key Search for more articles by Caroline Ross, and under her penname karol cooper, and by and about Alan.) Caroline is ACR's Contributing Literary Editor, a member of its Board of Directors, and a personal friend of the publisher's.

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