Frontier Fridays: Turkey Day Recipes

 Try some of these old time recipes for Thanksgiving~

Rich Pie Crust
3 Cupfuls of Flour
1 Cupfuls of lard
1 Dessertspoonful of salt
Put salt and lard with flour, working in lard with hand until thoroughly mixed.  Add enough water to barely wet - ice cold water is best. Roll out in circles and put into pie plate. This is sufficient for 2 pie crusts. 

Cranberry Pie
1 Quart of cranberries
2 1/2 cupfuls of water
2 cupfuls of sugar
Line deep dish pie plate with crust.  Put cranberries on stove, with the water.  Cook until tender.  Rub through a colander.  Put in 2 scant cupfuls of sugar and boil for 15 minutes.  when cool pour this in pie plate. Lay narrow strips of pie crust from the center to the outer edge.  Bake in hot oven.

Pumpkin Pie
3 cupfuls of pumpkin (bright yellow preferred)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cupfuls of sugar
1 heaping tablespoon of flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 quart of milk
little salt
Boil pumpkin till tender.  Press through colander.  Mix all ingredients together.  Line 2 deep dish pie plates with a nice crust and pour in the mixture.  Bake until they rise.

Spiced Currants
5 pounds of currants
4 pounds sugar
1 pint vinegar
4 teaspoons of cinnamon
4 teaspoons of cloves
Boil slowly 2 1/2 hours.  Tie spices in cloth before boiling

Cranberry Jelly
1 quart cranberries
3 1/2 cupfuls of sugar
Put 1 quart of cranberries on the stove with cold water enough to cover.  Boil until tender.  Strain through a colander.  To this 4 cupfuls of juice add 3 1/2 cupfuls of sugar.  Boil 20 minutes and turn into a mold which has been wet with cold water.

Cranberry Sauce
Pick over and wash 1 quart cranberries, cover with cold water.  Cook until tender.  Remove from the fire and rub through a colander.  Sweeten to taste.

Turkey
Cook 10 pound turkey 3 hours in slow oven.

What to Serve with Roasted  Meats
Roast Beef and Turkey - Squash, Turnips, Onions, Cranberry Sauce
Roast Pork - Spinach, onions, applesauce
Roast Lamb - Mint Sauce
Roast Mutton - Currant Jelly, Vegetables

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Frontier Fridays: More Old Time Recipes - including Real Mincemeat.

Here are a couple odd ones I have found along with some more interesting ones...

Cracker Tea (for sickness)

Take 4 Boston crackers, split open and toast to a light brown on each side.  Put these into a bowl or earthen dish of some kind, pour over them a quart of boiling water.  Let it stand on the back of the stove for half and hour.  When cold, give two or three teaspoonfuls to anyone who is sick.  It is nourishing and the stomach will retain it when absolutely nothing else can be taken.
 (TOTAL YUK! LOL)

Crust Coffee

Take the crusts or any pieces of stale bread, and bake in the oven until hard and brown.  Put them into an agate or earthen tea pot.  Pour over them boiling water and boil 10-15 minutes.  Strain and serve hot like any coffee with cream and sugar. 
(Want to try this for your morning Joe?)

Mincement (The Real Thing)

4 cupfuls of Chopped Meat
12 cupfuls of Chopped Apples
2 cupfuls of Chopped Suet
1 cupful of Vinegar
3 cupfuls of seeded raisins
1 cupful of Currants
5 cupfuls of Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cupful of Molasses
6 Teaspoonfuls of Cinnamon
3 Teaspoonfuls of Cloves
1 Teaspoonful of Nutmeg
1/4 pound of Citron Ring
Juice of one Lemon
Butter the size of an egg
Salt.
Moisten with Cold Coffee or Strong Tea. Cook slowly for 2 hours.

Homemade Potato Yeast

4 good sized potatoes
1 quart of boiling water
2/3 cupful of sugar
1/3 cupful of salt
1 1/2 cupful of old yeast
Boil, peel and mash potatoes.  Add boiling water, sugar and salt.  If old yeast can not be obtained, use one and one half cakes of compressed yeast.  Put this into a pitcher or dish which will hold 3 pints.  Place in warm spot to rise, keep covered.  Use 2/3 of a cupful to one quart of flour. 

(This reminds me of the sourdough starter I used to make...)

Crab Apple Jelly

Cover apples with water and boil until tender.
Strain through a flannel bag.  Boil the juice twenty minutes.  Add the same amount of sugar, pint for pint, and cook 5 minutes.  Pour into tumblers, and when cold, cover with paraffin. 

(Their recipes were much simpler than ours today, weren't they?)

Next week...some Halloween type recipes  Enjoy!