New Recipes Search -- Please Help!

Here are a few requests that I need help with. Thanks!

Pumpkin Chessecake Search
Denise is looking for a Pumkpin Chessecake Recipe that was in an old Oster Blender cookbook (and it’s not in the Osterizer Cookbook I recently bought). She says it was made in the blender with gelatin.

Anyone Know Lamb’s Tail?
Joy asks: "I am looking for a recipe for something my husband's grandmother made. She called it Lamb's Tail -- it was a biscuit dough type dessert, sort of like Butter Roll (in the South) but I don't know enough to make it. She was from Maine so I assume it's a New England thing. If anyone knows about this, I'd love to hear! My father-in-law has requested that someone make this for him this Christmas.”

In search of a stuffing recipe….
Rae is looking for a stuffing recipe made with bacon, bread, thyme and onions.


Vegetable Chowder Recipe Request from Andrew
“I am looking for a recipe I found several years ago on a message board. It was called Vegetable Chowder. It contained nothing but canned vegetables. I think it had corn, cream of corn, green beans, kidney beans, & stewed tomatoes. I think it had other canned veggies, but I can't remember. I loaned my only copy of this recipe to someone and never got it back. This recipe was not a soup but more like a chowder. I've searched every where on the internet without much luck. I am not a very good cook, so I always try to find super easy recipes and this one was more suitable to my culinary skills. Any help would be greatly appreciated.”

Ernest is looking for the following recipes:
Pugacha
Aron Gulushka
Choruka (in Polish – Kruschi)
He writes these are phonetic spellings and he is also looking for Hungarian baking recipes.

Gerrit in South Africa is asking:
“Do you perhaps know of a recipe for (American) Southern Salt Bread? A friend of mine remembers it from a trip to the USA where he ate this bread in Florida, near Orlando. We have been seaching for it without any success.
I am also keen to learn about a recipe that one can bake in those American cast-iron moulds shaped like small cobs of corn. I have a pan of that kind with 8 small molds in it. Although it is antique I would like to put to the test and taste the bread/cookies for which it was designed."

Thanks for your help!
Holly

Cookbook Junkie Roadtrip

It's probably intuitively obvious that I'm a cookbook junkie, especially those little pamphlet ones printed by church groups in really small towns.

So recently on an out of town trip, I ran across an antique shop (aka junk shop) with a treasure trove of old recipe books. This was also just after I re-organized all my cookbooks and said I wouldn't buy anymore. Well that was a resolution that didn't have a long life because there are some cookbooks that I just can't resist.

Cookbooks on canning and preserving are special favorites of mine. When I ran across this Ball Cookbook, it had to come home with me to add to the five other Ball Cookbooks that I already had. But the cover is so pretty.

I'm also a sucker for Culinary Arts Institute Cookbooks. And this one had such a cheerful cover! It was $1.50 more than my 50-cent price target for these little booklets, but on the back cover there is a sweet little black cat sitting in front of a big stone fireplace and I'm a sucker for black cats too.

The recipes probably aren't "masterpieces of Italian cookery, " but they are interesting to read. Each recipe has it name in English and in Italian so I get to practice my Italian pronunciation.

Then I found a book with handwritten recipes. The book was divided into recipe sections with about 50 blank pages in each section. It was apparently a gift to someone and the person giving the gift had written a recipe on the first page of each section. The person receiving the book had added a few but not many. If you are into making books, this would be a great gift idea.

I also joined the Foodie Blogroll. You will find the Foodie Blogroll links on the right. If you like reading foodie blogs, then you will love this blogroll. Lots of interesting foodie blog.

I've got some new recipe requests that I will be searching for this week. If I can't find them, I'll be asking for help. I did find and post a recipe for Tomato Soup Cake. The request was from a friend. I found quite a few recipes, but they were all about the same. The major difference was in the spices added. Some added Allspice and some didn't.

We welcome your recipes and their memories on our Heritage Recipe site, so please share. The holidays are fast approaching and that is the busiest season for our website. Everyone is looking for those favorite recipes that their moms and grandmas made -- so share your old family favorites!

Terrific Old Time Recipe Cookbook!

Book Review: Saltville Centennial Cookbook,
A Century of Good Cooking, 1896-1996

If you like my Heritage Recipe website, then you will want to get a copy of The Saltville Centennial Cookbook, A Century of Good Cooking, 1896-1996. Following a similar format to my Heritage Recipe website, every recipe has a story about a Saltville area person. Out of print for many years, cookbook has been reprinted by the Friends of the Museum of the Middle Appalachians, Saltville, VA and is available again at the Museum of the Middle Appalachians Store.

The cookbook contains over 110 old recipes, family photos and articles from and about the old time cooks in the Saltville area. This cookbook is a "must have" for collectors of old fashioned recipes. I have a copy of the book from its original printing in 1996 and it's a family treasure. Even though I don't know the people in the stories, I have really enjoyed reading them -- and re-reading them.

Here's the beginning of one of the stories, "Sarah Greer's mother died at birth. Her father had to go off to the Civil War and never returned..." If you want to know what happens to Sarah, you are going to have to buy the cookbook!

You can learn more about the Museum of the Middle Appalachians on their website. This is a terrific small, community museum, located in an area of Virginia that is rich in both American history and pre-historic history. If you are traveling on I-81 through Virginia, take a detour off the interstate and visit Saltville. It is located eight miles north of I-81 in the southwestern part of Virginia. Take exit 35 via Route 107 or Exit 29 via Route 91 for the short and scenic drive into Saltville.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy, contact the Museum Store at (276) 496-3633. The price is $20 per copy and supplies are limited. The museum doesn't have online shopping so you will need to call them. They are happy to take phone orders! The funds from the sales of the book go toward supporting the museum. Purchase this cookbook and you will help the museum continue to grow!

Disclaimer: In case you are wondering how I even know about the re-print of this cookbook, I'm the volunteer webmaster for the Museum of the Middle Appalachians.

Pioneer Vinegar Pie Recipe

This search is for my friend and third grade teacher, Wava, who will soon celebrate her 90th birthday. She remembers her mother making Vinegar Pie when she was a small girl and Wava’s grandmother made Vinegar Pie as a Kansas Pioneer, while living in a sod house in Western Kansas.

Vinegar Pie was a pie that pioneers made in the winter when the dried fruits had been depleted. I’ve included two Vinegar Pie recipes. The second Vinegar Pie recipe is very basic (the instructions are a bit vague) and probably more like what the pioneers made when supplies were low. The pie is suppose to have a rather fruity flavor. Click here to check out these Vinegar Pie recipes.

If you want to learn more about Kansas’ pioneer women, an excellent book to read is “Pioneer Women : Voices from the Kansas Frontier,” written by Joanna Stratton. If the book isn't available at your library, you can use the link on the Vinegar Pie Recipe page to order it from Amazon.

With the help of our visitors we have found:
Crumble Griddle Cakes (found by Priscilla)
Mustard Bean Pickles (found by Colleen)
Peanut Candy with Sorghum (found by John)

We also have a few new recipes that have been submitted with their memory to Heritage Recipes:
Grandma Smith's Icebox Cake
Mam's Banana Cake
Chunk Sweet Pickles
Oma's German Style Spare Ribs
If you have any recipes with memories that you would like to share, submit them to Heritage Recipes.

To everyone who has been helping me find recipes -- THANKS!

Cookbook Collector -- THANKS!

Quite a few recipes have entered the "Found" column, thanks to our visitor - Cookbook Collector. I can't begin to thank her enough for all the detective work she has done to find these lost recipes. Once again -- THANKS! You can use the links on the right to view the found recipes.

In the lost column, we have new new request from Leo:
"Having great difficulty finding the nuts and bolts to this great pastry my mother used to make back in the 30"s . I remember I used to have to pulverize the poppy seeds with a hammer then she used to cook this in milk etc., etc. and this is the part I don't remember. At the age of 83, sometimes the details have a tendency to slip away. Back in the 50's a Jewish bake shop used to make a great product . Basically the poppy seed mixture , usually with raisins added fills a cake type pastry shell ( yeast type pastry ,I think . ) Does this ring a bell with any of your old timers . Thanks for any help . Leo" This almost sounds like Butter Rolls with poppy seeds, although Butter Rolls are not a yeast pastry. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so, please let me know.

In the "Maybe Found" column, we sent four prune pie recipes out following this request:
"I happened upon your site by chance and am hoping you can help me find a prune pie recipe for my aunt. Years ago her mother-in-law use to make a prune pie in which the prunes were cooked and possibly sieved before being made into the pie filling. My Aunt said the filling was very smooth and almost creamy. It was then served with whipped cream on top. Unfortunately her mother-in-law wasn't one to give out recipes so my aunt who is in her 80's has been looking for this recipe for a number of years. I do hope someone can help me find it. It would mean a lot and make her very happy. Thanks for any and all help you can give me. "

If you haven't visited our Heritage Recipe site lately take a look. I finished it's re-do so it has a new look, an easier to use navigation structure plus the recipes now have pdf files to make printing them easier. I'm always ready to read and post your old recipes and memories so please take time to submit them. If you are a knitter, take time to visit Confetti Creative Knitting -- it is from the sale of these felted bag patterns that I pay for the costs of maintaining the Heritage Recipe site.

And I'm still looking for the recipes listed in the previous posting. I am updating that post as the recipes are found. All your help is greatly appreciated. That Green Beans with Cream of Wheat has really got me stumped!

Have a totally terrific and safe Labor Day Holiday!

Recipe Search Recap -- Updated 9/6 with Found Recipes

I've been busy re-vamping Heritage Recipes and have gotten behind in my recipe searches. So I'm asking for some help.

Here are the requests that I am looking for. Please let me know if you have any of these recipes!

"I have lost an old recipe that was on a pickling lime bag 25yrs ago. The recipe called for using white raisins in the making of the syrup. Can you please help? Thanks so much."

"Do you have any of the old recipes that talk about how many corn cobs it take to make so many degrees in the old cookstoves?"

FOUND "My Mom always made “sun pickles” in the heat of summer. She used a gallon glass jar, pickle size cucumbers, garlic, dill and salt. The problem is I don’t remember the ingredient portions! I don’t believe it was ever written down.The jar was filled with water, covered with a plate or other covering to protect it and literally left in the sun for 5-7 days to process. My children loved them and now I would like to share with my grandchildren as well.If anyone remembers this, let me know!"

"My Aunt made stuffed green bell peppers tied with string and canned them in the 40's and 50's. They were stuffed with what appeared to be a sour slaw. Absolutely delicious. I have never found a recipe. I assume they were possibly of German origin but cannot say for sure. She was a farm wife and Mother in central Illinois. Can you give me a suggestion as to where I might look for a recipe?"

"About fifteen years ago, I got a recipe out of Cosmopolitan magazine (I think) called Cheery Chowder. It had ham, cheese, broccoli, potatoes, cream, etc. I have lost the original recipe and wanted to know if any of your readers remembered it. IT WAS SO GOOD! I have written to Cosmo to see if it was archived, but haven't heard back from them. I hope someone else in web-land happened across this recipe many years ago and was smart enough to hang on to it. If you remember Cheery Chowder, please email me."

FOUND "HELP, am looking for a German pretzel recipe that my mom made soo good, mom is in a home, and I just wish to have this, dont know how to spell it correctly, (kimoek) something like that please help me."

"My grand mother used to prepare fresh green beans with a cereal, I think was called Ralston purina cream of wheat. This came out of the dutch/german amish area of western Pennsylvania north of Pittsburgh."

"There once was a small chain of grocery stores in Southern California known as Jurgensen's. They made a cookie called a Molasses Finger. They had the taste of a ginger snap, but they were wonderfully chewy. I haven't had much luck reproducing them. Any ideas? Thanks,Cheri"

"I don't know why it was called that. I only know that after it was baked, the cake was very heavy! People commented on how much it weighted. Rather it actually weighted 3 pounds in a 13x9 inch pan, I don't know. It was one of the best cakes I ever baked. Sometime in years past, the recipe book was lost in moving. I searched everywhere to find a recipe even similar to it.I don't know how to help, except to give clues: The recipe was very old. The first time I made it was around 1964, however, I know it was older than that. It had raisins, walnuts and maybe even dates in it. A lot of spices. It was so heavy, it resembled a fruit cake, but was instead, a spice cake. It was very moist. The best cake ever! I was always asked for recipes.If I remember correctly, that was the name of it. 3 Pound Spice Cake. It was very good with the caramel icing on top. That recipe was included with the cake if that helps.I would appreciate your help.Sincerely, Judy"

"My old favorites, Carrot Cake & Roger's Cream Cheese icing recipes out of the ( Ballinger) The Joy of Gardening Cookbook are missing. Seems someone liked them enough to remove them. I loaned my books out. The book I had was a 2 edition that I ordered before the printing. Please locate. Barbara"

FOUND "Many years ago I used to make Clever Judy Frosting with my Grandmother - it was almost a whipped mocha consistency. The thing I remember most is that we would have to spell one another beating the frosting in a bowl over a bowl of ice until it set. The recipe is long gone. Hopefully you will be familiar with it. I would love to have it. Many thanks. Sharon"

FOUND "I'm from Asheville North Carolina, Really love Old Fashioned Recipes. I am looking for a Batter Bread Recipe That you bake in a juice can Can you all help me find one Thank you .Love the wed site. Thank you Sharron"

FOUND (MAYBE!) "Hello, Please help me find a recipe for peach meringue pie (the filling was creamy instead of clear)...Thank you so much. Frances"

FOUND "When I was little my grandmother made persimmon cookies and pudding, these were a family favorites. I am looking for a persimmon cookies recipe that has the persimmon pulp, raisins and and spices. STILL LOOKING: She also made a persimmon pudding that she baked. All I remember was that she mixed the persimmon pudding and baked it the removed it from the over and put a sauce on topand baked it again. I have searched several different sites and can not find these recipes. Do you have anyone out there who may have the recipes?"

"I can not find in my files nor on the net a recipe for Fruit Chilli Sauce(chutney). It used a lot of Tomatoes, and then equal amounts of apples, peaches, green/red sweet peppers and onions. There was white/cider vinegar, chilli powder, brown sugar and so on. Can you please assist.Thanks, Shirley"

"Many years ago my mother made oatmeal cookies from a recipe that she found in a girl scout magazine. If anyone had one of these magazines from way back, probably in the fifties, and could find this recipe I would so love to have it. I have made many, many cookies from different oatmeal recipes and they just aren't it. I don't know if it was American Girl magazine or maybe Girl Scout Leader but I think it was one of them. Thanks for any help you can give me."

FOUND "Would you have a recipe for a Salad Dressing Cake? My mother used to make it all the time and got the recipe from her mother. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the recipe. Sincerely, Ann"

FOUND "Please help me find an old sugar cookie recipe that was on the box of Arm & Hammer baking soda. 1954-1963 somewhere in that time frame. Thanks, Fern"

FOUND "I am looking for a Pour Biscuit Recipe that my husbands grandmother used to make when they were little. She never measured out the ingredients, but poured into hot skillet, like making cornbread. When they came out of the oven, she cut into wedges like cornbread. I would appreciate anyone sharing information about this recipe."

"Hi, Years ago, my favorite aunt used to take a package of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild rice, cook it according to directions, and then do something with onions and canned B&B mushrooms and combine them. She served it as a side dish, but it was so delicious I sometimes ate it as my main course. I've tried Uncle Ben's but can't locate it; I'd really appreciate some help.Thanks, Mary"

"Years ago I had a recipe for artichoke foam, I move from Mass. to Fla and somehow it got lost. I remember sitting own after I steamed the artichokes and patiently scrapping all the leaves to get the pulp of the artichokes to make the recipe. If anybody has the recipe you will make one old lady happy."

FOUND "My Grandmother used to make a peanut (not peanut butter) candy made with sorghum syrup. I believe she ground some of the peanuts. I would like to find a recipe similar to hers. Thank you Starla"

FOUND "I have a friend who died in 1990- when we were kids in the late 70’s, we always made a cookie at Christmas at her house. The family lost the recipe. I feel sure it was one from one of those Pillsbury or other brand-related cookbooks of the 60’s-70’s, but I am not sure why I feel so sure of this. Anyway, I’m going to describe the recipe, and hope that maybe someone knows it. Thanks in advance; I’ve been looking for this since 1990 to no avail. The recipe was generally a basic shortbread variation, nothing fancy. You shaped the dough into a ball, and you put several chocolate chips inside as you shaped the ball, so that they baked in the middle. I think you then dipped the tops of the dough balls into round candy sprinkles. Then bake, that’s it. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions on other ways to search. Lucinda"

"I've looked every where & can not find the recipe for stawberry - banana salad using only those two ingredients can you help."

FOUND "Almost 40 years ago I went to a Tupperware party where they gave out a recipe that went with the biggest round storage container they had at that time. It had numbers in the name of the recipe corresponding to the amounts of the ingredients in the recipe. (1-2-3-4 Cake?) You put a store-bought angel food cake into the container (I guess that was the 1) and then poured a Jell-o mixture over it. It was then covered and refrigerated. The cake soaked up the mixture and was served with whipped cream.Have you heard of this, or am I just dreaming? Thanks for any help you can give me..."

FOUND "Do you have an old recipe for a mustard bean pickle recipe that you make with wax or green beans?"

FOUND by Priscilla "Hi there! In my search for an old recipe which I've lost, I happened upon your site! This may prove to be fruitless, but I'm giving it a shot!When I got married (the first time!) in 1970, I received an Osterizer blender. The accompanying booklet of recipes included a recipe for pancakes - and one of the ingredients was slices of store-bought white bread. The recipe yielded the lightest and fluffiest pancakes I've EVER had! Sadly, aftter 20 or so years of marriage, my husband and I parted ways... I got the blender and he, apparently, got the recipe booklet (which he promptly threw out!) Since then I've been looking for this recipe and have been unsuccessful in my search. Any leads you could provide would be very much appreciated! Thank you Priscilla :-)" ** Editor's Not: Have Contacted Oster, but they no longer have the recipe in their archives.

FOUND "My grandmother made a sour cream raisin pie. As a child I did not like it. So so my sister would eat the filling out of my piece and I would eat the crust. I have wondered what it tasted like as I can't remember."

"I used to have a recipe clipped from the paper which is now LOST!! It was a great topping on a steak The ingredients were 2 cups of sliced celery,4 cups of sliced mushrooms individually sauteed in buttter then combined. I can't recall if there was worsterchire sauce added and or lemon juice. Can you help ? June"

Pour Biscuits

Still look for a good Pour Biscuit recipe, however, I did find a recipe that said to add additional water (no amount given) to your biscuit recipe and pour them into skillet and bake.

If you have this recipe please send it to the Old Recipe Detective or if you have search requests, let us know!

Apple Cherry Pie Recipe Found

Yesterday, I sent an email to the folks at VA Tech's Special Collections Library. They have an outstanding collection of old recipe books there. I visited them last summer and found the librarians and staff there to be really helpful. I asked them if they had Elizabeth Woody's "The Pocket Cookbook" in their collection. And they did. They kindly sent me the recipe. I will try to track down the publisher and get permission to post it here.

It does sound good and I'm going to use the sour cherries we put up last summer to try the recipe.

And thanks to John at VA Tech's Special Collection Library for helping me with this request.

Artichoke Foam, Pumpish and Apple Sour Cherry Pie

Well, we are back from our trip to Vienna (love the Gulash), Nurnberg (just ate my last Lebkuhen) and Belgium, where my all time favorite chocolate shop is in Kortrijks (if you going to Belgium a side trip to Kortrijks Chocoladehuis, Leiestraat 35, is work the time).

So this week I've really been pushing to find some lost recipes.

First, Artichoke Foam. If you watch Top Chef, this is not the same type of foam. Marjorie tells me that she baked it. Haven't found anything like it in my books or on the internet. But I did find an interesting Artichoke Cookbook by Patricia Rain. I was able to track down Patricia's email address and was asked her about this recipe. Her response was "Well, you've got me stumped as well. I've never heard of Artichoke Foam." She suggested I contact the Artichoke Advisory Board which is my next step.

However, in my Artichoke search I discovered that Patrica Rain is also the Vanilla Queen. She has a website devoted to vanilla and has written the history of vanilla. I requested the book from my local library and plan to post a review on the HeritageRecipe site soon. She has a really interesting website, so check it out.

But back to Artichoke Foam...if anyone has any ideas about this recipe, please let me know.

The next recipe stumper is the request for Pumpish. Since we are just back from Austria, I thought it had an Austrian-Hungarian sound to it, so I emailed thepassionatecook (check out her terrific blog). She was kind enough to send the request on to some of her friends and got this response...

I’m not sure but eventually it could be a dish called Pompos (sp. pomposh). It is a Hungarian regional speciality originating from a village called Tök (hence the name „töki pompos”). The preparation is quite different then described by the lady but the name sounds so similar. It is basicly a potato bread dough topped with garlic sour cream and bacon, a kind of pizza actually. It used to be prepared in old times by women: when baking bread, they always stole a few piecec from the leavened dough for the always hungry children and topped it with whatever at home (potato, onion, sour cream, cheese, lard, etc.)
I think, it’s not quite what the lady is looking for but maybe it helps further.

The recipe goes like this:
Ingredients:
· 500 g strong flour
· 2-3 cooked potatoes
· 1 package instant dried yeast
· 200 g bacon, cut in cubes
· 1 onion, sliced thinly
· 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
· 500ml sour cream
· (150-200g grated cheese) optional
salt

Cook potatoes, peel, mash. Mix the flour with salt and the dried yeast. Add the potatoes and some of the cooking water. Knead. Let rest for 1 hour in a warm place. Roll out the dough and put on a baking sheet. Pre-bake in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for about 9 minutes. Mix sour cream with garlic and bacon. Top the half-baked bread dough with this mixture. Sprinkle with sliced onion and put back to oven for 10 minutes. (At the very end of baking you can add cheese and bake until melted)

This dish looks like here: http://www.tokipompos.hu/images2/IMG001.jpg

I sent this info along to Holly N., who was looking for the recipe, and hope this is it. If not, we will keep searching. I did buy an Austrian cookbook in my travels, but it and most of our luggage, is still traveling or hanging out in London in a giant pile of luggage in Terminal 4 at Heathrow (what a mess -- home 11 days and still waiting for the luggage).

Finally, I thought I had a better chance at finding a recipe request from Carole -- she's looking for Elizabeth Woody's recipe for Apple Cherry Pie. Carole says it is made with sour cherries, and since I have a quart of sour cherries from last summer, my interest was really peaked.

Turns out to be harder than I thought. My local library doesn't have the book (The Pocket Cookbook by Elizabeth Woody) and it's out of print and rather pricey on Amazon. I posted a request to see if anyone has it on the CooksIllustrated Board -- no answers yet. I also emailed the Virginia Tech Special Collections Library as they have lots of old cookbooks. Still waiting for a reply. If you have this cookbook, please look up the recipe and I will send it on to Carole.

Other New Requests:

Pour Biscuits

"I am looking for a Pour Biscuit Recipe that my husbands grandmother used to make when
they were little. She never measured out the ingredients, but poured into hot skillet, like
making cornbread. When they came out of the oven, she cut into wedges like cornbread.
I would appreciate anyone sharing information about this recipe. " This request is from Sandra. If you have this recipe, please send it to me.

Cheery Chowder

Tonight I got this request, "About fifteen years ago, I got a recipe out of Cosmopolitan magazine (I think) called Cheery Chowder. It had ham, cheese, broccoli, potatoes, cream, etc. I have lost the original recipe and wanted to know if any of your readers remembered it. IT WAS SO GOOD! I have written to Cosmo to see if it was archived, but haven't heard back from them. I hope someone else in web-land happened across this recipe many years ago and was smart enough to hang on to it," writes Brenda.

Okay, you Cosmo readers -- anyone have this recipe in their files. A quick internet search got zip so I'm counting on you!