French Fried Onions (1910); Amish Preaching Soup (1950)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   The branch of "fast food" known as New York City's Parking Violations
Bureau in the Bronx had some out-of-touch Manhattanites devise an electronic
queueing system.  It resulted in utter chaos yesterday.  Ten hours with no
break but a half hour lunch.  This and the good fortune of having dead family
members enables me to give away my work for free.
   Working in the Bronx and solving the "Yankees" counts for nothing with the
New York Yankees and now the NEW YORK TIMES, I guess.
   Below, if I'm conscious,  is some leftover research from Thursday...I'll
probably visit the Library of Congress on Monday.

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FRENCH FRIED ONIONS & FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

   This is from the NYPL's Susan Dwight Bliss microfilmed collection of food
clippings from NYC newspapers.  The dates are handwritten and nearly
illegible, but this one is clearly 1910.

NEW YORK SUN
29 May 1910
Pg. 195 in Susan Dwight Bliss collection

   A novelty that progressive New York restaurants are introducing with great
appreciation from their patrons is one that can be reproduced at home without
difficulty--French fried onions.  In flavor and appearance they bear little
relation to the usual breakfast fish, and which, moreover, are possible to
many to whom "for the stomach's sake" the others are impossible.  The sweet
Bermuda onion is used for this new dainty.  It is cut thin to resemble French
fried potatoes.  Before cooking dredge with flour.  Fry quickly in a wire
basket in hot deep fat until crisp, brown, and free of grease.  Very
delicious as an accompaniment for beef steak, or, in fact, good with almost
any kind of red meat.
   Now that tomato season is approaching, the fact that green tomatoes are
more delicately flavored and more delicious fried than the red ones usually
cooked that way is worth a word of reminder.  Jot it down in the household
new idea book to be tried for breakfast some morning, or at luncheon, with or
without a meat dish.
   Cut into thin slices some large, perfectly green specimens, (they must not
have begun to show any signs of ripening, and those freshly pulled are really
the best for the dish,) sprinkle with salt and dip in corn meal until
covered.  Saute in a little butter until a nice brown.  Cover the frying pan
throughout the cooking process to keep the tomatoes tender.  They may be
brought to table with the accompaniment of a brown sauce or plain.

("French fried onions" is a "new dainty" in 1910?  "Fried green tomatoes" for
the household "new idea" book in 1910?--ed.)

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AMISH PREACHING SOUP

HOBBY HORSE COOKERY:
FAVORITE RECIPES OF MARJORY HENDRICKS' WATER GATE INN, WASHINGTON, D. C.
compiled by Flora G. Orr
1950

Pg. 6:
   AMISH PREACHING SOUP
(Often served after church in the Pennsylvania Dutch regions because it can
be simmering while the people are praying)
2 cups baked or boiled navy beans
3 slices bacon
2 medium-size onion, minced
4 cups cold water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
Seasonings: salt, pepper, paprika, Lowry's seasoned salt
Pg. 7:
Navy beans should be soaked overnight, before boiling them until they are
tender.  About the only time you would use baked beans would be an occasion
when you had some left-over baked beans.  Cook the bacon.  Add it to the
beans, minced onion and cold water.  Simmer until beans are very soft, then
rub all through a strainer to puree the beans and remove the hulls.  (A few
whole beans may be kept for floating in the finished soup.)  Place strained
mixture on the fire and add a little more water, if needed, as the soup must
not be too thick.  Rub butter with flour to make a paste and put this in soup
as a binder, stirring until it blends nicely.  Cook 2 or 3 minutes longer.
Season.
   (Instead of the bacon and 4 cups cold water, bits of ham and 4 cups of
stock from cooking a ham bone may be substituted.)

Pg. 7:  PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH HOT POPOVERS

Pg. 8:  INTOXICATED LOIN OF PORK LATTWAERICK

Pg. 11:  ROAST BEEF OR CORNED BEEF HEXEL

Pg. 17:  DUTCH FARMER'S HODGE PODGE CHICKEN...MENNONITE BAKED CHICKEN IN SOUR
CREAM

Pg. 18:  MUSHROOMS CARBAREAN

Pg. 19:  SHRIMP WIGGLE ESCHE PUDDLE
   Break freshly-cooked and dressed shrimp into pieces not more than one-half
inch in length.  Combine them with enough fresh or frozen peas to make
one-half the measure of the shrimp pieces.  Make a white sauce with cream or
very rich milk, butter and flour and seasonings.  Put shrimp and peas in this
sauce.  Heat very slowly, stirring constantly to avoid scorching.  The
addition of a few mushrooms, chopped green peppers and pimentoes is
permissible, if desired.  Just before serving, season with sherry wine.  If
necessary to thin the sauce during cooking, use chicken broth.

Pg. 21:  SOFT SHELL CRABS PIMLICO

Pg. 22:  SPINACH PUREE SMITANE

Pg. 23:  CORN PUDDING EPHRATA

Pg. 24:  TOASTED CARROTS LEBANON

Pg. 26:  FRIED POATOES LEIDY...LANCASTER COUNTY SALAD

Pg. 27:  SOUR CREAM-RAISIN PIE
(Sometimes called Funeral Pie by the Pennsylvania Dutch, but there is nothing
mournful about it!)
(DARE has "funeral pie" from 1949 and 1950.  Recipe typed on request--ed.)

Pg. 29:  GRANDMA SHIELD'S MONTGOMERY CAKE-PIE

Pg. 30:  DUTCH APPLE-CHEESE PIE...BARBARA FRITCHIE SUGAR HOUSE PIE

Pg. 32:  ETHEL'S FAMOUS BRANDY PUDDING SAUCE

Pg. 35:  BAKED ORANGES WHITLOCK