"In Europe, there is a general tradition, not confined to Christians, that Easter is the time to start eating the season's new lamb, which is just coming onto the market then. For Christians there is the added symbolic significance that Jesus is regarded as the lamb of God. In Britain, a leg, shoulder, or saddle is roasted at this time and served with new potatoes and mint sauce. For the French, a roast leg of lamb, the gigot pascal..is the traditional Easter Sunday lunch. In Italy, too, and Greece baby lamb or kid [goat] plainly roasted, is a favorite Easter dish."

---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, second edition edited by Tom Jaine [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2004 (p. 266)

British culinary traditions

"Mutton...has a stronger flavour and deeper colour than lamb...Plain spit-roasting or boiling were...methods used from early times; but what one finds in early English cookery books are complex and highly flavoured mutton recipes...Sharp ingredients, such as verjuice, vinegar, and lemon were frequently called for in sauces and gravies for mutton during the 17th century...In the 18th century, the spices, apart from mace, nutmeg, and pepper, largely disappeared, as did the sourer ingredients. Oysters, anchovies, and mushroom took their place, being put into the gravy or served under the meat as a 'ragoo'...Redcurrant jelly was served with mutton from the late 18th century onwards...Mutton (or lamb)was a popular pie filling from the 17th century until the 19th century...Mutton was sometimes used to mimic venison...Mutton seems to have been a popular choice for 'exotic' dishes...Mutton appeared in Irish Stew and Lancashire Hotpot."

---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, second edition edited by Tom Jaine [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2004 (p. 528-529) "In Anglo-Saxon times one ate simply sheep...In the late thirteenth century...the Old French word moton was drafted into the language, introducing for the first time the possibility of a distinction between the live animal and its flesh used for food. (In fact mutton was from early on used for live sheep as well, and this continued until comparatively recently; and the distinction from lamb as the flesh of young sheep does not appear to have developed until the seventeenth century.) Old French moton in itself came from medieval Latin multo, which in turn was probably borrowed from a Celtic language of Gaul...Mutton was once a mainstay of the British diet: Mrs. Beeton refers to it as 'undoubtedly the meat most generally used in families', and Victorian cookery books are stuffed with recipes for mutton pies and puddings, broiled mutton chops and cutlets, braised legs of mutton, Irish stew, and other now less well remembered dishes."

---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 222-223) Why do we pair mutton with mint?

Related dishes: Irish stew & Shepherd's pie & Mutton birds. SPAM

One of ten top iconic American manufactured foods, SPAM holds a special place on our national table & culinary folklore.

How did SPAM get it's name?

"The Birth of Spam Jay Hormel inaugurated his Flavor-Sealed line of canned products in 1926 with a whole tinned ham. The next year he added spiced ham (the direct antecedent of Spam) and in 1928 canned chicken. With the depression, Hormel's cherished Flavor-Sealed line began slipping badly, so he conceived the scheme of launching a grand-new product with a trick name and initiated a series of contests climaxed by a New Year's Eve Party at his own home. Each of the 65 guests was greeted at the door with a contest blank. The price of each drink was a completed entry in the contest...Finally the butler delivered to the host a slip of paper marked with the word SPAM. In 1937 Spam went on public sale, ballyhooed by on fo the earthiest, corniest and most successful promotion campaigns in U.S. advertising history...."

---"Hormel: The Spam Man," Frances Levison, Life, March 11 1946 (p. 63+)

"...the product sat for two years waiting for the right name. The delay is understandable when you hear some of the entries in a company naming contest Jay [Hormel] launched. "Brunch" was an early favorite. Inspired by Sinclair Lewis, a native Minnesotan who had used the quite-new word bruncheon in his 1915 nove "The Trail of the Hawk," the name may have been nixed because the novel's hero comes down with typhoid fever immediately after eating a fashionably late morning meal. Jay and company also apparently considered the name "Spic." The word was already a derogatory term for Hispanics but in this case was more likely derived from an Old English term for fat of grease. Spam still had no name until in late 1936 when, as legend has it, Jay decided to throw a New Year's Eve party...The Reward for suggesting the now-famous name--a hundred dollars--went to Kenneth Daigneau, the visiting actor-brother of Hormel Vice President Ralph Daigneau...." ---Spam: A Biography, Carolyn Wyman [Harcourt Brace & Company:San Diego]1999 (pages 7-8).

How much did SPAM cost in 1937?

"New Hormel SPAM, Spiced Ham, 12-oz can 31 cents."

---Giant Market food advertisement, Daily Record Newspaper [Morristown NJ], September 23, 1937 (p. 3)

SPAM recipes?

Full page color SPAM advertisements, featuring recipes, ran regularly in popular women's magazines throughout the 1940s. The back cover of Woman's Day, November 1938 shared recipes for Hot Velveeta SPAMwich (on toast place 2 thin slices of SPAM, sliced tomato, Bermuda Onion or pickle. Cover with a thin slice of Velveeta and place in oven until it melts), SPAM 'N' Eggs (Quickly fry slices of SPAM, and serve with eggs...Or dice SPAM and have SPAMbled eggs). Woman's Day January 1941: SPAM Burgers (We just grill or fry thick SPAM slices, pop them on buns-top them off with relish or ketchup-and there's our quick indoor picnic!). Woman's Day, November 1942 offers recipes for SPAM 'N' Pancakes, SPAMwiches (All you need is bread, butter, and a can of SPAM. If you like, add chili sauce, relish, sliced hard egg...) & SPAM 'N' Spaghetti (Prepare spaghetti and tomato sauce in casserole, sprinkle with grated cheese and crumbs. Bake till top is brown and crusty. Cut thick slices of Span and grill. It's a Victory meal--nutritious and delicious!). Woman's Day May, 1946: SPAM 'N' Macaroni Loaf. Woman's Day May, 1947: SPAM for Luncheon (grilled and served with carrots, peas cauliflower with a crown of hollandaise), Baked SPAM (for dinner...Score whole SPAM, sutd with cloves) & SPAMwiches (for anytime...Make Spamwiches of cold sliced Spam, with: chopped olives, pimiento, sweet pickle, mayonnaise--sliced hard cooked egg, dressing--creamed cheese, horse-radish--sliced tomato, cheese, mustard.).

The competition

"Spam luncheon meat was a tough sell at first, partly, according to former Hormel public relations chief Stuart H. "Tate" Lane, because housewives of that era had "been raised by their mothers to believe that if you ate meat that had not been refrigerated, you'd be sick the next day." But it quickly picked up in poplarity. One measure was in the number of monosyllabic competitors it spawned. Treet, MOR, PREM, Snack, TANG, and more than a hundred others came on the market within the next two years, most leaving just as quickly." ---Spam: A Biography (p. 9-10)

PREM

According to the records of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, this Swift & Company product was introduced to the American public September 16, 1939. PREM was one of several brands competing with Hormel's famous SPAM canned luncheon meat product. We're not finding any references to "poor man's spam" except on the Internet. Possibly? Competing products were priced lower as a way to entice thrifty consumers from the ubiquitous SPAM. Note how the ads below all tout the same positive points. Color photo: Woman's Day September 1946 (p. 44)

"Tonight we'll have hot Prem dinner!" Ready-To-Eat, Prem is a tiptop meat for summer meals. You can serve it hot without heating the kitchen. Try it as shown above with cauliflowers and lima beans. Or you can chill the can and serve it cold. Hot or cold, it hselps make meal preparation quick, cool, easy. All meat, no waste, it's economical, too. Swift & Company: Purveyors of fine foods. Sugar-Cured, by the makers of Swift's premium ham. Now packed three ways--but all the same quality of the same good Prem."

---Woman's Day, October 1944 (p. 7)

TREET

Armour's product was introduced May 27, 1939. "New middle of the tin opener" with key, color photo Woman's Day, April 1949 (p. 10)

MOR

Wilson & Company, Chicago IL (sorry, not finding a start date for this product)

"Eating Pleasure on the Double Quick. Menu (Nutritionally Balanced)

Broiled Mor and Tomato Halves

Broiled Whole Kernel Corn, Hard Rolls

Cherry Cream Pie, Milk

Recipe: To assemble platter: In center of round platter place brouled whole kernel corn, flecked with green pepper and pimientos (chopped). Around the corn arrange alternate slices of broiled MOR and broiled tomato halves, topped with chopped onions. Garnish with greens. 'I have tried all the meats of the MOR type. I use and recommend MOR for its finer flavor, extra tender texture and uniform quality.' George Rector, Food Consultant to Wilson & Co. Delicious, appetizing MOR comes read to eat. Saves time and work in busy wartime kitchens. MOR is all good meat. No wasteful bone or gristle. Every bit edible. Each can makes 8 dinner-size slices or 16 sandwich-size slices. Rich in energy and a natrual source of Vitamin B1. No refrigeration needed. By the Makers of Tender Made Ham, Wilson & Co."

---Women's Day, October 1942 (p. 2)

TANG (the meat product, not the orange powdered beverage)

We can confirm the existance of this product from newspaper ads, but not the manufacturer or introduction date. If you have information please let us know!

"Treet, Prem, SPAM, Tang, 51 cents/can"---display ad, Delta Democrat-Times [Greenville Miss.], January 15, 1948 (p. 16)

Squirrel

Native dwellers, European settlers, foraging pioneers, and established frontiersmen often relied on the daily "shoot" to provide meat for meals. This might explain why squirrel recipes were not typically featured in period cookbooks. We also find references to squirrel as a substitute for preferred cuts in certain recipes, including stew. In the USA two celebrated examples of squirrel-based food are Brunswick Stew & Kentucky Burgoo. Big socio-political feeds featuring local game make perfect sense in this particular context.

Prehistoric applications

"As Ewer says: 'The [human] taste for meat would have been first acquired by eating relatively easily killed things such as tortoises, lizards, porcupines and small mammals like ground squirrels."

---Food in Antiquity: A Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples, Don Brotrhwell and Patricia Brothwell [Johns Hopkins University Press:Baltimore MD] 1998 (p. 32)

English cuisine

"Squirrel. A tree-dwelling rodent of the family Sciuridae, to which the woodchuck and prairie dog also belong. Squirrels have a global distribution. All species have a long bushy tail and strong hind legs; and eat nuts and seeds. Squirrels can be cooked like rabbit or even chicken...The slight gamey taste present in most game meats is not so pronounced in the squirrel. The young ones can be fried or broiled the same as rabbits.'"

---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2007 (p. 752)

"The red squirrel was a dish for a lord. 'Browet farsure' was an early fiftneeth-century pottage which contained the meat of partridges and coneys 'or else rabbits for they are better for a lord...And for a great lord, take squirrels instead of coneys.' By Tudor times they were going out of favour. Dr Moufet wrote, 'Squirrels are much troubled with two diseases, choler and the falling-sickness; yet their hinder-parts are indifferent good whilst they are young, fried with parsley and bitter: but being no usual nor warrantable good meat, let me skip with them and over them to another tree...' Meat was cooked by roasting, broiling on a gridiron, frying and stewing. In addition, the pie was developed, which allowed meat to be sealed within a strong crust and baked, often accompanied by several other ingredients."

---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago Publishers: Chicago IL] 1973, 1991 (p. 83-84)

"Squirrels as food are not much sought after in England, although their flesh is quite tender and their flavour resembles that of the wild rabbit. During World War II squirrel pies and roast stuffed squirrels appeared on Soho menus, but never found favour, and it is safe to assume that further available supplies were used as rabbit. Those seeking adventure in the culinary field might well try roast squirrel without suffering indigestion."

---Master Dictionary of Food & Cookery, Henry Smith [Philosophical Library:New York] 1952 (p. 228-229)

American cookery

"Other animals eaten are the woodchuck...the muskrat,...rabbits, hares and all kinds of squirrels."

--- Iroquois Foods and Preparation, F.W. Waugh, facsimile 1916 edition [University Press of the Pacific:Honolulu HI] 2003 (p. 135)

"Of all the denziens of the Southern woods, none is more common than the squirrel, and the bushy-tailed rodents have been there in great numbers since long before Columbus. Indians roasted them over the open fire or stewed them in clay pots; later, new Americans from Europe and Africa fried them in skillets. Thomas Jefferson and many another Southerner after him...considered squirrel an essential ingredient of Brunswick stew, Kentucky burgoo makers...have always felt the same way. According to most contemporary preferences, the favored way to cook squirrel is smothered in a rich gravy made from pan liquids and flour. The same basic recipe is also used with other small game, such as rabbit and quail."

---Southern Food: at home, on the road, in history, John Egerton [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill NC] 1993 (p. 248) [NOTE: This book includes a recipe for preparing squirrels supplied by Bart Stephenson, Hermitage Sportsmens' Club. We can send if you want.]

"Southerners took game of all kinds throughout the ueart, but fall and winter were the preferred hunting seasons. This provided dame during the period when poultyr and eggs were least abundant. Wild turkey, rabbit, and squirrel tended to replace domestic poultry and eggs in the diet during the winter. The cooking of game was similar to that for domestic meats. Frying was a favorite method of preparing young rabbit, but older animals were boiled. Squirrel meat was tougher than rabbit and required more cooking, but the results were considered superior to rabbit dishes. Squirrel broth or pie with dumplings were considered delicacies." (p. 47) "Like rabbit, squirrel was a common food animal, and it was tenacious enough to survive in large numbers in most of the areas throughout the antebellum period. Squirrels were common wherever adequate food could be found, and the woodlot or forested stream course that was part of every southern landholding provided as many animals as one might wish. Gray squirrels abounded throughout the area and were especially numerous in the deciduous forests. In the Coastal Plain and Mississippi Valley the much larger fox squirrel also was found. Both were relished by whites and slaves though squirrel may have been less common in the slave menu than rabbit since it usually was obtained with firearms. But is is certain that many white farmers, particually the smaller ones located in the oak-pine, oak-hickory, and chestnut forest areas, had as much squirrel as they desired."(p. 79-80)

---Hog Meat and Hoecake: Food Supply in the Old South 1840-1860, Sam Bowers Hilliard [Southern Illinois University Press:Carbondale IL] 1972

"Squirrel: a small rodent with slender body and bushy tail, of familiar appearance and habits, found wild in every part of the world except Oceania. By residents of the larger cities it is best known as the protected, semi-domesticated pet of public and private parks, but it is also esteemed by many people as among the most desirable of small game animals, all varieties--black, red, grey, etc.--being equally acceptable."

---The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [New York] 1911 (p. 589)

Vintage recipe sampler

[1839]

"Stewed Squirrels. Take a couple of fat young squirrels, case and cut them into small pieces, rinse them very clean in cold water, sprinkle on enough salt and pepper to season them well; stew them in a smalll quantity of water, wiht a few slices of bacon, till nearly done. Make a thick batter with eggs, milk and flour; drop it by spoonfuls in with the squirrels, add a large spoonful of butter, rolled in flour, stew it fifteen or twenty minutes longer, then our in a cup of sweet cream, and serve it up. Or you may omit the dumplings, and serve with the squirrels a handful of chopped parsley having it stirred in the gravy. "Fried Squirrels. Prepare them as for the stew season them with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, dredge them with flour, and fry them a handsome brown, in lard or butter. Stir into the bravy a spoonful of flour, one of tomato catchup, and a glass of sweet cream, and serve the squirrels with the gravy poured round. "Broiled Squirrels. Case and clean two fat young squirrels, (old ones will not do;) split them open on the back, rinse them very clean in cold water, season them with salt, pepper, and grated lemon; broil them on a gridiron, over clear coals, turing and basting them two or three times with butter. When they are well done, place them in a warm dish, sprinkle on them a handful of grated bread, and pour over them two ounces of drawn butter."

---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile 1839 edition [Image Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 136-137) [1879]

"To Barbecue Squirrel.

Put some slices of fat bacon in an oven. Lay the squirrels on them and lay two slices of bacon on the top. Put them in the oven and let them cook until done. Lay them on a dish and set near the fire. Take out the bacon, sprinkle one spoonful of flour in the gravy and let it brown. Then pour in one teacup of water, one tablespoonful of butter, and some tomato or walnut catsup. Let it cool, and them pour it over the squirrel."

---Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree, facsimile 1879 edition [Favorite Recipes Press:Louisville KY] 1965 (p. 108) [1886]

"Stewed Squirrels. Skin two pairs of fat squirrels, wash them quickly in cold water, or carefully wipe them with a wet cloth to remove the hairs, and cut them in quarters, rejecting the intestines. Put a layer of slices of fat salt pork in a saucepan, then place the squirrels in the saucepan, with a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper, and either a little more salt pork, or a quarter of a pound of good beef or veal dripping, or butter; add enough water to prevent burning, cover the saucepan, and cook the squirrels gently until the meat is tender. When the squirrels are nearly done, uncover the saucepan, so that the water in which they were cooked can stew away. Then put in enough cream or good milk to moisten them, let them heat again, see that they are palatably seasoned, and then serve them hot. "Squirrel Pie. After a pair of squirrels have been skinned, wipe them all over with a wet cloth to remove the hairs, and cut them in joints, saving the blood, and removing the entrails. The liver, heart, and kidneys may be used. Chop a pound of beef-suet fine, rejecting all the membrane; mix it with a pound and a half of flour, two level teaspoonfuls of salt, and a level saltspoonful of pepper. Butter an earthen baking-dish; add enough cold water to the suet and flour, to make a crust which can be rolled out about three-quarters of an inch thick. Line the dish with the crust, put in the squirrel meat and blood, adding enough cold water to half fill the pie; season it highly with salt and pepper, and cover with the crust, wetting all the edges to make them adhere so closely that the gravy cannot escape. In the middle of the top crust, cut a little slit, to permit the escape of the steam while the pie is being baked. Bake the pie in a moderate oven for about two hours; when the crust is nearly brown enough, cover it with buttered paper. When the pie is done, serve it hot in the dish in which it was baked."

---Miss Corson's Practical American Cookery and Household Management, Juliet Corson: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/books/misscorson/pach.html [1887]

"Squirrel Soup. Wash and quarter three or four good sized squirrels; put them on, with a small tablespoonful of salt, directly after breakfast, in a gallon of cold water.Cover the pot close, and set it on the back part of the stove to simmer gently, not boil. Add vegetables just the same as you do in case of other meat soups in the summer season, but especially good will you find corn, Irish potatoes, tomatoes and Lima beans. Strain the soup through a coarse colander when the meat has boiled to shreds, so as to get rid of the squirrel's troublesome little bones. Then return to the pot, and after boiling a while longer, thicken with a piece of butter rubbed in flour. Celery and parsley leaves chopped up are also considered an improvement by many. Toast two slices of bread, cut them into dice one half inch square, fry them in butter, put them into the bottom of your tureen, and then pour the soup boiling hot upon them. Very good."

---White House Cook Book, Mrs. F.L. Gillette: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/books/whitehouse/whit.html [1910]

"Squirrels, Fried.--Unless they are young, parboil them gently for 1/2 hour in salted water. Then fry in butter or pork grease until brown. A dash of curry powder when frying is begun improves them, inless you dislike curry. Make gravy as directed on page 63. Squirrels, Broiled.--Use only young ones. Soak in cold salted water for an hour, wipe dry, and broil over the coals with a slice of bacon laid over each squirrel to baste it. Squirrels, Stewed.--They are best this way, or fricasseed. Squirrels Barbecued.--Build a hardwood fire between two large logs lying about two feet apart. At each end of the fire drive two forked stakes about fifteen inches apart, so that the four stakes will form a rectangle, like the legs of a table. The forks should be about eighteen inches above the ground. Choose young, tender squirrels (if old ones must be used, parboil them until tender but not soft), Prepare spits by cutting stout switches of some wood that does not burn easily (sassafras is best (beware of poison sumach), peel them, sharpen the points, and harden them by thrusting for a few moments under the hot ashes. Impale each squirrel by thrusting a spit through flank, belly, and shoulder, on one side, and another spit similarly on the other side, spreading out the sides, and, if necessary, cutting throught the ribs, so that the squirrel will lie open and flat. Lay two poles across the fire from crotch to crotch of the posts, and across these lay your spitted squirrels. As soon as these are heated through, begin basting with a pice of pork on the end of a switch. Turn squirrels as required. Cook slowly, tempering the heat, if needful, by scattering the ashes for a final browning. When the squirrels are done, butter them and gash a little that the juices my flow."

---Camp Cookery, Horace Kephart, facsimile 1910 edition [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 2001 (p. 69-70) [1926]

"Squirrel Fricassee

1 squirrel

2 cups cold water

1/4 cup canned tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped celery

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire

1 tablespoons fat

Flour

Salt and pepper

Clean and wash thoroughly. Cutt off legs, and cut other part of body in pieces. Soak in salted water on hour, drain, wipe each piece dry; season with salt and pepper, and roll in flour. Heat fat in fryer, add onion, let brown lightly, add squirrel. When nicely browned, add water, celery, parsley, tomatoes, and Worcestershire. Cover and let cook slowly about two hours. If gravy is too thin, thicken with a little flour."

---Every Woman's Cook Book, Mrs. Chas. F. Moritz [Cupples & Leon:New York] 1926 (p. 150) [1930]

"Barbecued Squirrel.

Wash the squirrel with water in which you have poured a little vinegar. Skewer flat and wipe dry. Rub all over with butter or fat and put under the flame in a shallow pan. Baste constantly with a mixture of one third vinegar and two thirds water, well seasoned with salt and black pepper. Take the pan out several times and turn the squirrel so that it will be cooked on both sides."

---Old Southern Receipts, Mary D. Pretlow [Robert M. McBride:New York] 1930 (p. 65) [1940]

"Roast Squirrels

Squirrels

Salad oil

Lemon-juice or tarragon vinegar

1 cup bread-crumbs

Cream

1 cup button mushrooms

Pepper and salt

Onion-juice

Oil

Brown stock

Worcestershire sauce

Paprika

Clean the squirrels thorougly, wash in several waters and cover with salad oil mixed with lemon-juice or tarragon vinegar. Let stand for an hour on a platter. Soak a cup of bread-crumbs in just enough cream to moisten them, add a cup of button mushrooms cut in dice, pepper, salt and onion-juice. Stuff each squirrel with this mixture, sew and truss as you would a fowl. Rub with oil, place in a dripping-dish, and partly cover with brown stock diluted with a cup of boiling water. When the squirrels are well roasted, make a gravy out of the liquor in the pan, by adding a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, and paprika, salt and lemon-juice to taste."

---Amercian Woman's Cook Book, edited and revised by Ruth Berolzheimer, Culinary Arts Institute [Consolidated Book Publishers:Chicago] 1940 (p. 301) [1950]

"Squirrel and Rabbit.

Best in the fall and early winter. Prepare like Chicken. When roasting, truss the forelegs back and hind legs forward. Fasten bacon over the shoulders and back. Baste with a mixture of 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup boiling water. Turn several times. The Stuffing is made as for Chicken. Garnish, when served, with lemon slices on watercress."

---Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, revised and enlarged [McGraw-Hill Book Company:New York] 1950 (p. 287) [1952]

"Squirrels en Casserole

3 squirrels

1/2 lb. chopped salt pork

1 cupful chopped onions

1 1/2 cupfuls sliced parboiled potatoes

1 cupful green corn

1 cupful Lima beans

Black and red pepper to taste

1 quart (2 cups) peeled, cut tomatoes

1 tablespoonful sugar

1 tablespoonful salt

4 heaping tablespoons (4 oz.) butter

2 heaping tablespoons (2 oz) flour

4 quarts (16 cups) boiling water

Clean, wash and joint the squirrels. Lay them in salted water for 30 minutes. Put the ingredients into a large casserole in the following order: First a layer of the pork, then one of the onions; next, of potatoes; then follow with successive layers of corn cut from the cob, the beans and the squirrels. Season each layer with black and red pepper. Pour in the water, put on the cover, and seal with a paste made of flour and water. Cook gently for three hours, then add the tomatoes, sugar and salt. Cook for one hour longer; stir in the flour and butter mixed together, boil for five minutes, and serve in the casserole.

[NOTE: this recipe is very similar to Brunswick Stew.] "Squirrel Pie

'It may interest your readers to learn that grey squirrels, a pest from which it is admittedly desirable to rid this country, are not merely edible but provide an agreeable food. Young members of my family have been shooting them recently in a neighbourhood where they abound and are most harmful, and we are now finding them as useful as rabbits as a table dish. The meat is as tender as rabbit, can be similary cooked, and resembles it is taste. If it were widely used to supplement the meat ration the double purpose might be served of addition to our food supply and the extermination of an animal desctructive of that supply and of all bird life. Yours faithfully, Frances M. Rowe, Deancroft, Cookham Dean.' (A letter to 'The Times', 19th February, 1941.) "Sauteed Squirrel

1 pair squirrels

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, minced

1 garlic clove, finely minced

2 tablespoons minced ham

1 tablespoon flour

Bit of thyme, minced

1/2 bayleaf, minced fine

1 teaspoon grated rind of lemon

Salt and pepper

Cayenne

1 12/ cup claret

Wash and wipe the squirrels dry; cut in quarters; rub with salt and pepper. Slowly fry onion and garlic in butter until golden; add ham and squirrel, sprinkle with flour, and fry until brown. Heat claret and add with remaning ingredients. Simmer until tender."

---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon, complete and unabridged [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 490) [1992]

"Squirrel. Gladys Nichols: 'People say I make good squirrel dumplings. You just boil your squirrel like you would a chicken. Get it good and done and put your seasonings in it. Then make up your flour like you're going to make biscuits. Squeeze you of a little dough and roll it or cut it out. Have your squirrel boiling and just drip the flour dough in there, pepper and salt it, and boil it till it's good and done. I have got a lot of compliments on my dumplings. And then you can make gravy in your squirrel with just a spoonful or two of flour mixed with milk. Pour it in your pot and cook it. Most people, I think, like the gravy even better than they do the dumplings."

---The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery, Linda Garland Page & Eliot Wigginston editors [Gramercy Books:New York] 1984, 1992 (p. 139) [2010]

"Fried Squirrel with Gravy

Sarah Thomas ate a lot of squirrel when she was growing up in French Creek., West Virginia. 'They grow way bigger there,' she recalls. 'This is how my mom, Nancy Loudin, taught me to cook squirrel. May dad and brothers always shot the suqirrels through the head with .22 rifles to avoid anyone breaking a tooth on buckshot. We usually helped Dad skin out the squirrels. And there was often a battle over who got the tail.'

Makes 4 servings

2 large squirrels

Salt and ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil or lard, for frying

Milk, mixed with equal parts water (about 1 cup each)

Gut and skin the squirrels. If they were shot with buckshot, check thoroughly for any pieces of shot and remove. Soak the squirrels in a pan of water in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, covering the squirrels. Cut into pieces but don't throw out the backs; there's food flavor there. Discard the heads. Put the pieces in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the meat is tender but not falling off the bone, then drain. Season the squirrel pieces with salt and pepper and roll in the flour. Heat oil to shimmering in a cast-iron skillet and add squirrel pieces. Fry until golden brown on both sides. You are not cooking the meat here but rather adding flavor and texture. Remove the meat to drain on paper towels or a brown paper bag. Leave about 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the flour left over from dredging the squirrel. Make a roux (turn the heat down or it'll get away from you). Once the flour is golden, add half milk and half water and good splash at a time, stirring furiously, until your gravy is the consistency you like. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the squirrel and gravy with mashed potatoes and green beans cooked with bacon fat. Biscuits wouldn't be a bad idea either.---Sarah Thomas of Black Mountain, North Carolina."

---The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook, edited by Sara Roahen & John T. Edge [University of Georgia Press:Athens GA] 2010 (p. 202)

BRUNSWICK STEW

Great American meals are often "claimed" by many places. Such is the case with Brunswick Stew. This large community feed is tradtionally connected with the American South and Appalchian regions. Kentucky Burgoo and Wisconsin/Minnesota Booya and possibly European Hodge Podge are related by ingredients and method. Classic recipes for Brunswick stew feature squirrel. Modern interpretations sometimes omit that local ingredient. Purists, we understand, still insist on the squirrel. Our survey of historic cookbooks reveal several variations, many of them redacted for home cooks.

The history of Brunswick stew is an excellent lesson in culinary folklore. Historians are fond of recounting stories regarding the origin of the name. These explain the name, but not the recipe. In the broadest sense, the history of this Brunswick stew (essentially squirrel soup with onions) and be traced to neolithic times, when hunter-gatherers put whatever game they were luck enough to catch in the pot with whatever vegetables were in season.

"Brunswick stew. A stew made originally with squirrel, now made with a chicken or other meats. There have been many claims as to the dish's origins, especially from the citizens of Brunswick County, North Carolina, but the most creditable claim comes from Brunswick County, Virginia, where in 1828 Dr. Creed Haskins of the Virginia state legislature requested a special squirrel stew from "Uncle Jimmy" Matthews to deed those attending a political rally. This original Brunswick stew was said to have contained no vegetables except onions, but it soon went through several transformations before the squirrel itself dropped from most recipes after the turn of the century. The first mention in print of the dish was in 1856."

---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 44)

"Brunswick County, North Carolina, has for years been attempting to lay claim to Brunswick Stew. The best documented case, however, is held by Brunswick County, Virginia, which argues that in 1828 Dr. Creed Haskins of Mount Donum, a member of the Virginia state legislature, wanted something special for a political rally he was sponsoring. Haskins had eaten a squirrel stew created by Jimmy Matthews, and he turned to Matthews for a new variation on that stew. Squirrels gradually disappeared from the recipe for Brunswick Stew, and chicken is now accepted as its major ingredient, but it remained for many years--in its original form--one of the principal attractions of political rallies conducted by the Whigs and Democrats, and of cockfights, family reunions, tobacco curings, and other Virginia gatherings."

---The American Heritage Cookbook, American Heritage editors [American Heritage Publishing Company:New York] 1964 (p. 475) [NOTE: This book contains a modernized (chicken, not squirrel) recipe.]

"The origins of Brunswick stew--initially based on squirrel meat, then on chicken or rabbit or all three--are shrouded in mystery. Brunswick, Virginia; Brunswick County, North Carolina; and Brunswick, Georgia, all claim they were the birthplace, either in the 1700s or 1800s. Others credit Britain's Earl of Brunswick, who, visiting the South, discoverd the derivative dish being served to Virginia workmen...Nashville's John Egerton [states]: 'It seems safe to say that Indians were making stews with wild game long before any Europeans arrived, and in that sense there was Brunswick stew before there was a Brunswick."

---Smokehouse Ham,. Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Applachian Cooking, Joseph E. Dabney [Cumberland House:Nashville TN] 1998 (p. 212) [NOTE: recipe for Kentucky, Crock-Pot and Smoky Mountain Brunswick Stews are offered in this book.]

[1824]

"Hare soup.

Cut up two hares, put them into a pot with a piece of bacon, two onions chopped, a bundle of thyme and parsley which must be taken out before the soup is thickened, add pepper, salt, pounded cloves, and mace, put in a sufficient quantity of water, stew it gently three hours, thicken with a large spoonful of butter, and one of brown flour with a glass of red wine; boil it a few minutes longer, and serve it up with the nicest parts of the hares. Squirrels make soup equally good, done the same way."

---The Virginia House-wife, Mary Randolph [facsimile edition of 1824 edition] with Historical Notes and Commentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia] 1984 (p. 35) [1879]

"Brunswick Stew.

A Twenty-five cent shank of beer.

A five-cent loaf of bread--square loaf, as it has more crumb, and the crust is not used.

1 quart potatoes cooked and mashed.

1 quart cooked butter-beans.

1 quart raw corn.

1 1/2 quart raw tomatoes peeled and chopped. If served at two o'slcok, put on the shank as for soup, at the earliest possible hour; then about twelve o'clock take the shand out of the soup and shred and cut all of the meat as fine as you can, carefuuly taking out bone and gristle, and then return it to the soup-pot and add all of the vegetables; the bread and two slices of middling are an improvement to it. Season with salt and pepper to taste; and when ready to serve, drop into a tureen two or three tablespoonfuls of butter. This makes a tureen and about a vegetable-dish-full. --Mrs. R.P. "Brunswick Stew

Abour four hours before dinner, put on two or three slices of bacon, two squirrels or chickens, one onion sliced, in one gallon water. Stew some time, then add one quart peeled tomatoes, two ears of grated corn, three Irish potaotes sliced, and one handful butter-beans, and part pod of red pepper. Stew altogether about one hour, till you cna tiake out the bones. When done, put in one spoonful bread crumbs and one large spoonful butter.--Mrs. M. M. S. "Brunsiwck Stew

Take one chicken or two squirrels, cut them up and put one-half gallon water to them. Let it stew until the bones can be removed. Add one-half dozen large tomatoes, one-half pint butter-beans, and corn cut from a half dozen ears, salt, pepper, and butter as seasoning.--Mrs. I. H. "Brunswick Stew

Take to chickens or three or four squirrels, let them boil in water. Cook one pint butter-beans, and one quart tomatoes; cook with the meat. When done, add one dozen ears corn, one dozen large tomatoes, and one pound butter. Take out the chicken, cut it into small pieces and put back; cook until it is well done and thick enough to be eaten with a fork. Season with pepper and salt.-Mrs. R."

---Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree, facsimile 1879 edition [Favorite Recipes Press:Louisville KY] 1965 (p. 211-212) [1908]

"Brunswick Stew

This is made from the large Southern gray squirrels. Cut into joints and lay in cold salted water for one-half hour to draw out the blood. Put into a large pot one gallon of water, lightly salted, and bring to a boil. Add the jointed squirrels, one half dozen potatoes parboiled and sliced, one-half pound of fat salt pork, sliced, a quart of tomateos peeled and sliced, one pint Lima beans, six ears of corn cut from the cob, or canned corn, and a sliced onion. Cover closely and simmer gently for three hours, stirring occasionally from the bottom. Fifteen minutes before serving add one-half cup of butter, beaten to a cream with a tablespoonful of sugar, and pepper to season. Stir until smooth and slightly thickened, then pour into a hot tureen."

---New York Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock Telford [Cupples & Leon:New York] 1908 (p. 85) [1910]

"Brunswick Stew.

--This famous huntsman's dish of the Old Dominion is usually prepared with squirrels, but other game will serve as well. The ingredients, besides squirrels, are:

1 qt. can tomatoes,

1 pt. can butter beans or limas,

1 pt. can green corn,

6 potatoes, parboiled and sliced,

1/2 lb. butter,

1/2 lb. salt pork (fat),

1 teaspoonful black pepper,

1/2 teaspoonful salt,

2 tablespoons white sugar,

1 onion, minced small.

Soak squirrels half an hour in cold salted water. Add the salt to one gallon of water, and boil five minutes. Then out into the onion, beans, corn, pork (cut in fine strips), potatoes, pepper, and squirrels. Cover closely, and stew very slowly two and a half hours, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the tomatoes and sugar and stew an hour longer. Then add the butter, cut into bits the size of a walnut and rolled in flour. Boil ten minutes. The serve at once.""

---Camp Cookery, Horace Kephart, facsimile 1910 edition [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 2001 (p. 68) [1930]

"Brunswick Stew. This is a famous Virginia dish.

Take three of four young squirrels. Cut them up, put into a good-sized kettle, and just cover with cold water. When they have boiled about fifteen minutes, put in

1 quart tomatoes, peeled and sliced

1 quart tender corn, cut from the ear and scraped to get all the milk

1 quart butter beans, fresh

1 pint tender sliced okra, or diced okra

1 pint peeled and sliced Irish potatoes

1 pint sweet peppers, if you can get them

Cook these together until the meat falls from the bones, and take out the largest bones. If all the ingredients are now thoroughly done, work together one tablespoonful of cornstarch and one-fourth pound of butter, and stir until it thickens. Season with salt to taste, and if you have not put in the peppers, season with red pepper and celery salt. The water should be replenished, so as not to become too dry. A good pinch of celery seed is like by some instead of celery salt."

---Old Southern Receipts, Mary D. Pretlow [Robert M. McBride & Company:New York] 1930 (p. 65-6) "City Brunswick Stew. When Game is not available.

Use ham and veal or chicken and beef, or chicken and veal. Cook three and one-half pounds of the meat to six sliced carrots, eight large potatoes cut up and three bit onions sliced, until the meat drops from the bone. Thicken with three tablespoons flour, add one tablespoon of sugar and one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, stir for a moment and serve in hot dishes."

---ibid (p. 78) [1940]

"Brunswick Stew

2 squirrels

1 tablespoon salt

1 minced onion

1 pint Lima beans

6 ears corn

1/2 pound salt pork

6 potatoes

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons sugar

1 quart sliced tomatoes

1/2 pound butter

This dish is named for a county in Virginia and is a favorite dish in that section of the country. It is served in soup-plates. Cut the squirrels in pieces, as for fricassee. Add the salt to four quarts of water and when boiling add the onion, beans, corn, pork, potatoes, pepper and the squirrels. Cover closely and simmer for two hours, then add the sugar and tomato, and simmer one hour more. Ten minutes before removing the stew from the fire, add the butter, cut into piece the size of a walnut and rolled in flour. Boil up, adding salt and pepper if needed, and turn into a tureen."

---Amercian Woman's Cook Book, edited and rebised by Ruth Berolzheimer, Culinary Arts Institute [Consolidated Book Publishers:Chicago] 1940 (p. 302)

KENTUCKY BURGOO

Classic example of a large outdoor meal simmering with local flavor. Like New England clambakes, Texas chili cook-offs, Southern/Midwestern Barbeque, and Hawaiian Luaus, Kentucky burgoo brings people together to celebrate community. Brunswick stew and Wisconsin/Minnesota Booya are close relatives. The common ingredient in Brunswick stew & Kentucky burgoo is squirrel. The unifying thread for all three "B" stews is celebratory community feed built on pride with a generous side of "secret ingredient." Where there are large groups of people, stew-meisters prevail.

"Some say burgoo originated in contental Europe and arrived on these shores in the nineteenth century with sailors from France and Belgium. They maintain that burgoo's name resulted from a mispronunciation of the French word burgout, or perhaps, closely related to ragout, a red-hot vegetable/meat stew. Old time 'burgoomaster' Jim Looney of Lexington, Kentucky, claimed that his burgoo predecessor, Colonel Gus Jaubart, introduced the stew to Kentucky around 1810, and that it was indeed a version of a stew fed to French sailors at sea. Looney claimed the original version dictated 800 pounds of lean beef, a dozen squirrels (provided they were in season) for each hundred gallons, 240 pounds of fat hens, plus a bunch of vegetables. Noted Kentucky historian Thomas Clark looked at burgoo's beginnings a bit differnetly: '(Burgoo) originated back in the days when hunters counted up their day's kill in the thousands of squirrels and when pigeons flew through the woods in veritable clouds, and bear, deer, buffalo and hundreds of turkeys were avialable. The idea came from Virginia, where Brunswick stew was popular. Vegetables of all kinds were boiled along with the game meats, and the whole mas was highly seasoned with spices. This was a fine temptation with which to attract a crowd.' Some feel Clark's references perhaps relate also to what was known a Appalchian 'hunter's stew' or 'Daniel Boone stew.'"

---Smokehouse Ham,. Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Applachian Cooking, Joseph E. Dabney [Cumberland House:Nashville TN] 1998 (p. 217) [NOTE: this book offers a modern squirrel-free Burgoo recipe.]

[1904]

"Kentucky Burgout.

Mrs. Garrard

6 squirrels,

6 birds,

1 1/2 gallons of water,

1 teacup of pearl barley,

1 quart of tomatoes,

1 quart of corn,

1 quart of oysters,

1 pint of sweet cream,

1/4 pound of butter,

2 tablespoons of flour,

Season to taste.

Boil the squirrels and birds in the water till tender and remove all the bones. Add barley and vegetables and cook slowly for 1 hour. Ten minutes before serving add the oysters and cream with butter and flour rubbed together. Season and serve hot."

---The Blue Grass Cook Book, Minnie C. Fox, facsimile 1904 edition with an introduction by John Fox Jr., new introduction by Toni Tipton-Martin [University Press of Kentucky:Lexington KY] 2005 (p. 37-38) [NOTE: this recipe was reprinted in the New York World's Fair Cook Book, Crosby Gaige, 1939.] [1938]

"Kentucky Burgoo 'Kentucky Burgoo' is the celebrated stew which is served in Kentucky on Derby Day, at Political Rallies, Horse Sales and at other outdoor events. This recipe is from a handwritten copy by Mr. J. T. Looney, of Lexington. Mr Looney is Kentucky's most famous Burgoo-maker and it was for him that Mr. R. R. Bradley named his Kentucky Derby winner 'Burgoo King'. Mr. Looney uses a sauce of his own in the preparation of this truly-amazing concoction. Mr. Looney is invited to all parts of the country to prepare Burgoo for large gatherings. This is not a dish to be attempted by an amateur though it can be prepared in smaller quantities. It is a very picturesque sight to see Mr. Looney, aided by many negro assistants, preparing this dish over open fires and huge kettles which are kept simmering all night.

600 pounds lean soup meat (no fat, no bones)

200 pounds fat hens

2000 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced

200 pounds onions

5 bushels of cabbage, chopped

60 ten-pound cans of tomatoes

24 ten-pound cands puree of tomatoes

24 ten-pound cans of carrots

18 ten-pound cans of corn

Red pepper and salt to taste

Season with Worcestershire, Tabasco, or A#1 Sauce

Mix the ingredients, a little at a time, and cook outdoors in huge iron kettles over wood fires from 15 to 20 hours. Use squirrels in season...one dozen squirrels to each 100 gallons."

---The Southern Cook Book of Fine Old Recipes, compiled and edited by Lillie S. Listig, S. Claire Sondheim and Sarah Rensel [Three Mountaineers:Asheville NC] 1938 (p. 6) "Burgoo for Small Parties. Meat from any domestic beasts or barnyard fowls may be used along with any garden vegetables desired. Originally, the burgoo was made from wild things found in the woods of Kentucky. Cut meat to be used into inch cubes; do not throw away bones; add them to meat cubes. Add any dried vegetables which will enchance flavor of stew. Put all materials into large stewing kettle, unless beans and potatoes are being used, If this is the case, cook meats first, and add beans and potatoes about an hor before seving. Fill kettle half full of water and place over fire to come to a boil. Prepare other vegetables for stew. Peel and halve opnions, scrape and dice carrots, pare and cube potatoes. When liquid in kettle is boiling, add vegetables. Lower heat than continue to simmer stew until vegetables are tender. Add salt and seasonings when stew is almost cooked. There should always be enough water to cover the vegetables. Canned tomatoes will add to the flavor of the broth. In a real burgoo, no thickening like meal or rice is used, because the broth is to be strained and served clear. Likewise, sweet vegetables were not used in th real burgoos."---ibid (p. 13) [NOTE: this recipe was reprinted in The New York World's Fair Cook Book, Crosby Gaige, 1939.]

Booya

There is some debate regarding the direct culinary lineage of the booyahs served in northern Great Plains states. The French connection is linguistically defensible (bouillion, boulliablase). The Belgium/Flemish/Low Country connection is likewise plausible. Hochepot (hutspot, hodgepodge) is a similar "down home" hearty stew composed of local meats and vegetables.

"Booya. A Minnesota and Wisconsin dish of meats like turtle, oxtail, beef, or chicken, carrots, potatoes and, commonly, rutabagas. Because the dish is usually cooked n enormous batches for large social gathering and church suppers, 'booya' has also come to refer to the outdoor feast itself. Most booyas are held in the fall when the harvest comes in. The origin of the word is unknown, perhaps from the French bouillir, or Canadian French bouillon, 'broth,' although it has been suggested the dish is of Belgian or Bohemian origin."

---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 35)

"Booya, a stew of chicken and fresh vegetables, can be found in scattered pockets from Minnesota to southern Indiana. Simmered for hours in large pots over outdoor wood fires, booya is served at family reunions, church picnics, community celebrations, and fund-raisers. Wisconsin's chicken booyah (with and added 'h') is said to be Belgian in origin and can also include beef, corn, and beans."

---Oxford Companion to Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 101)

"Hunters in the Michigan woods make a catch-all stew from game which they call booyaw or boolyaw; it is an echo of the state's French past, for it represents an attempt to reproduce the French pronunciation of the word bouillon."

---Eating in America: A History, Waverly Root & Richard de Rochemont [William Morrow:NY] 1976 (p. 169)

RECIPES

Wisconsin Booya, from Green Bay Gazette. Minnesota Booya

"Good booya cooks guard their recipes as zealously as any self-respecting chili contest winner. Everyone has a secret ingredient...that separates his batch from his neighbor's....Pine City Booya. Here's a respectable booya (the recipe makes 15 generous servings that the home cook might find manageable. Ann Burckardt, food editor of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune's Taste section, calls booya a 'highly personalized highly individualized' dish; indeed, her recipe files include versions using cabbage, green pepper and pork, in addition to the beef and chicken. This rendition, submitted by a Pine City, Minn., reader, illustrates the point. For best results, Burckhardt suggests making the booya a day before serving, and heating it over low heat. The burned taste ('part of the secret' associated with booyas cooked out of doors) is missing from this recipe, but Burckhardt adds that 'a little hovering the last hour' might be necessary to prevent the mix from sticking to the bottom of the kettle. Like any good booya, this freezes well, she adds.

1 cup navy beans, soaked overnight

4- to 5-pound stewing chicken

1 pound carrots, cut into chunks

4 lbs celery, sliced

2 large onions, minced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup barley

16-ounce can whole tomatoes

16-ounce package whole kernel corn

2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced

1/2 ounce pickling spices, wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with string

salt and pepper to taste

allspice to taste

Worcestershire sauce to taste.

On cooking day, cook beans about 1 hour, in the largest, deep bottomed kettle you can find, add the beans, chicken and beef; cover with water and simmer, covered, over low heat 2 hours. Remove meat and skim excess fat from the surface. Remove skin from chicken, separate meat from bones and cut up coarsely. Replace meats in stock. Add vegetables, pickling spices and salt to tastes. Simmer, covered, until flavors are well blended, stirring occasionally from the bottom, 1 hour. Season as desired and serve hot."

---"Booya: A Cross Between Soup and Stew, a 24-Hour Potboiling Tradition," [reprinted from the Washington Post], Post-Standard [Syracuse NY], November 25, 1985 (p. B4)

Steak Diane

The history of cooking and serving meat with spiced sauces dates back to ancient times. Sauces were employed to tenderize cuts and add flavour. Pepper was highly favored by Ancient Roman and Medieval cooks and figured prominently in many recipes. According to the Larousse Gastonomique, Sauce Diane (Diana...aka Artemis...a powerful mythological huntress) is traditionally associated with venison (a tough meat), which makes it a curious choice for the finest beef cuts that are used today for Steak Diane.

"Diane, a la

The description "a la Diane" is given to certain game dishes that are dedicated to the goddess Diana (the huntress). Joints of venison a la Diane are sauteed and coated with sauce Diane (a highly peppered sauce with cream and truffles). They are served with chestnut puree and croutons spread with game forcemeat."

---Larousse Gastronomique, Competely Revised and Updated edition [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 416)

"Steak Diane was originally a way of serving venison, and its sharp sauce was intended to complement the sweet flavor of deer meat. It was named for Diana, Roman goddess of the hunt, and since Diana was also the moon goddess, the small pieces of toast used to sop up the delicious juices are traditionally cut in crescent shapes."

---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [Ohio University Press:Athens OH] 1998 (p. 100)

When was Sauce Diane invented? The earliest mention we find of a sauce with this particular name is 1907, from Escoffier:

"Sauce Diane

Lightly whip 2dl of cream and add it at the last moment to 5dl well seasoned and reduced Sauce Poivrade. Finish with 2 tbs each of small crescent shaped pieces of truffle and hard-boiled white of egg. This sauce is suitable for serving with cutlets, noisettes and other cuts of venison."

---Le Guide Culinaire, A. Escoffier, translated by H. L. Cracknell and R. J. Kaufman recipe 44[1907] (p. 12)

Steak Diane is an evolution of an ancient dish that was *rediscovered* in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by European chefs. Interestingly enough, this time period coincides with the popularity of the chafing dish and table cookery [though none of the chafing dish recipes we have from that time period approximate Steak Diane]. These dishes were not called Steak Diane. They were known by several names, most famously "Steak au Poivre." Recipes for sauce poivre (pepper sauce) are found in both American and British cookbooks in the 1880s. The American Wine Cook Book, Ted Hatch [1941] has a recipe for "Noisette of Beef Rossini," (p. 118) which would produce something quite similar to Steak Diane. The Waldorf Astoria Cookbook, Ted James and Rosalind Cole [book published in 1981, recipe undated] prints a similar recipe (p. 157). Neither Rossini recipe is cooked at the table or served flambe.

Evidence suggests Steak Diane is an American invention of the late 1950s/early1960s, when French cooking (think Julia Child & the Kennedy White House menus) was all the rage. Rich wine sauces and flamboyant presentation were the norm for many top restaurants. If Steak Diane is an American recipe, then New York City is the most likely place or origin. Jane Nickerson's article "Steak Worthy of the Name," (New York Times, January 25, 1953 p. SM 32) offers three likely candidates: "The Drake Hotel, the Sherry-Netherland Hotel and the Colony Restaurant each said, not knowing that any other dining place had done so, that their patrons praised their steak Diane. Nino of the Drake claimed he was the first to introduce this dish to New York and, in fact, to the entire United States. Essentially it consists of steak cooked in butter and further seasoned with butter mixed with fresh chives; usually the beef is pounded thin. The chef of each establishment has his own version."

The earliest recipes we find for Steak Diane were printed in Nickerson's article. Craig Claiborne's Steak Diane (New York Times Cookbook [1961]) is not served flambe. Julia Child's The French Chef Cookbook, [1968] contains a recipe for "Steak au Poivre" with optional flambe.

"Steak Diane...I always associated this recipe with New York City's Colony Restaurant because that was where I first tried it. Yet I find no mention of it in "The Colony" [1945], in Brody's portrait of that restaurant. It is featured, however, in Michael Lomonaco's "The 21 Cookbook" [1995] together with this description: "At 21 Steak Diane is traditionally prepared tableside by the captains or Maitre Walter Weiss. The beef, sizzling in a large copper pan with brandy flaming and cause bubbling, makes a wonderful show reminiscent of the days when Humphrey Bogart and friends would bound in at midnight following the newest opening on Broadway..."

---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 92)



[1953]

Steak Diane (Colony Restaurant) 1 to one and one-half tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly gound black pepper to taste

1/2 to one teaspoon each finely chopped chives and parsley

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Individual steak of any thickness (one pound with bone, eight to ten ounces without bone and fat)

Mix all ingredients except meat in heavy fry pan and when very hot place steak in pan, cooking at very high heat until done. Serve immediately, pouring residue of sauce over meat.<

---"Steak Worthy of the Name," Jane Nickerson, The New York Times, January 25, 1953 (p. SM 32) [1961]

"Steak Diane, 1 serving 1 ten-ounce sirloin steak

1 1/2 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon congnac, heated

2 tablespoons sherry

1 tablespoon sweet butter

1 teaspoon chopped chives. 1. Trim the meat well and pound very thin with a mallet.

2. Heat one and one-half tablespoons butter in a chafing-dish platter. Add the steak and cook quickly, turning it once.

3. Add the congnac and flame. Add the sherry and the sweet butter creamed with chives.

4. Place the steak on a warm platter and pour the pan juices over it."

---The New York Times Cook Book, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] 1961 (p. 91) Related dish? Chicken chasseur (Hunter's chicken)

STEAK AU POIVRE Descending from Steak Diane, the true orgins of "Steak Au Poivre" are sketchy at best. "The origins of steak "au poivre", a steak coated with crushed peppercorns or served with a peppercorn sauce, are controversial. Chefs who claim to have created this dish include E. Lerch in 1930, when he was chef a the Restaurant Albert on the Champs-Elysees; and M. Deveau in about 1920, at Maxim's. However, M.G. Comte certifies that steak "au poivre" was already established as a specialty of the Hotel de Paris at Monte Carlo in 1910, and O. Becker states that he prepared it in 1905 at Palliard's!"

---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely Revised and Updated Edition, [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 1142) Craig Claiborne's New York Times Food Encyclopedia (p.429-30) contains information that suggests the origins of steak au poivre may be traced to Leopold I of Germany in 1790. Your librarian can help you find a copy of this passage if you would like to read it in full. "...the classic French Steak au Poivre (pepper steak), a restaurant showpiece demanding pyrotechnical skills, remains popular in some quarters. The recipe appears to be relatively new: Escoffier doesn't include Steak au Poivre in Ma Cuisine (1934) but his contemporary, Henri-Paul Pellaprat, does give a recipe for it in Modern Culinary Art (1953)...Food historians of solid reputation dismiss the Prince Leopold theory as apocryphal. Or pure fantasy. Whatever the origin, though, Steak au Poivre became the culinary tour de force of many stylish big-city American restaurants early this century."

---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 122) Which cuts to use? Depends upon the recipe's author. Julia Child observes "This famous dish usually calls for individual tenderloin or loin strip steaks, but other cuts may be used if they are of top quality and tender."

SOURCE: The French Chef Cookbook [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1972 (p. 262). Craig Claiborne recommends "boneless sirloin steak." SOURCE: New York Times Menu Cook Book [Harper & Row:New York] 1966 (P. 180) Steak Tartare



"Tartare has two culinary applications in English, both of them inspired by the supposed fitness of the Tatar people of central Asia."

---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford Univeristy Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 338)

"One of the great old food legends, right up there with the tale of an English king dubbing a particular cut of meat "Sir Loin," is the one about Mongol horsemen (sometimes Huns) supposedly sticking steaks under their saddles before riding off to war. Thus tenderized, the story goes, the steaks could be cooked quickly, and from this, it continues, descends the dish of raw chopped beef we call steak tartare. A Berkeley, Calif., scholar named John Masson Smith notes that there's no reference to this practice in Chinese historical records, and medieval observers in the Middle East never wrote anything about it either. Smith says there's a theory that European observers got this idea because central Asian nomads do sometimes put pieces of meat on horses' backs. But the reason they do it is to lubricate and soothe their mounts' sores, much as Americans put a piece of beefsteak on a black eye. They don't eat the "tenderized steaks" afterward. Traditionally, Turkish nomads such as the Huns and Tatars didn't even eat steak as such. They would cut meat in small pieces for shish kebab or mince it fine for frying, or they'd boil it, so the toughness issue scarcely arose. As for the Mongols, they cooked nearly everything by boiling. "

---"Steak tenderizing legends have been marinated in myth," Chicago Tribune, May 16, 2001 (p.7A)

"The English word "Tartar" comes via the Latin. Because the Romans considered the Taatatrs-the Central Asian Turkic nomads--savage, they inserted an "r" in their name, thereby linking them with Tartarus, or Hell. Even in our day, the idea of barbarism underlies the names of these foods. In the case of Steak Tartare, legend holds that the fierce horsemen of the Golden Horde tenderized their meat by packing it under their saddles. When they retrieved the meat, now so tenderized from the saddle's friction that they could eat it raw, as befits barbarians,. In fact, there is no historical evidence that the Tatars ate raw meat. More often than not, they boiled meat for soups and stews, as they still do today, or placed it on skewers to grill, or minced it to fill rounds of dough that they fried. Nevertheless, the myth lives on. As for Tartar sauce, the Tatars were certainly not eating mayonnaise int he fourteenth century!"

---"Scratch Russian Cuisine," Darra Goldstein, Russian Life, September/October 2005 (p. 61)

"Steak tartare is raw steak (beef or horsemeat), chopped and seasoned and presented with accompaniments such as onion, parsley, and capers, often with a raw egg yolk as a finishing touch. In Belgium, particularly in Flanders, it is known as filet americain. The origins of steak tartare are weighted with myth, usually involving the Russians learning the dish from their Tatar conquerors, then exporting it to Europe via German contacts in the 19th century. American scholars suggest it reached their shores through German migrants, figuring on German-American restaurant menus...It was first known in France in the late 19th century. The first citation in the OED [Oxford English Dictionary] is for 1911."

---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 786-7)

[1935]

"Steak a la Tartare

Tartare steak is another chopped steak, and you find it on a majority of a la carte bills of fare. It is so seldom called for, however, that many cooks are "up in the air" when they get an order for it, never having served it, even after years of service as a cook. This steak is served raw, and should be made of tenderloin. Cut the meat finely, season with salt or pepper, rather highly. Add some fine chopped onions, and bind with a little egg yolk. Mold for platter service. Indent the center and in the hollow so made place an unbroken raw egg yolk. Garnish with lettuce leaf, scattered capers, onion rings soaked in vinegar, and fancy cuts of spiced beets and pickles."

---The Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frank Rivers [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago] 1935 (p. 23)

Current food experts tell us eating raw beef and raw eggs is hazardous to your health. This information is uploaded for informational/historical purposes only. Do not try this recipe.

Why is steak tartare called steak (filet, beefsteak) Americaine in some countries?

It's not. The French have developed a rich and complex vocabulary when it comes to the culinary arts. For these chefs, and those in neighboring countries, two recipes are similar but not synonymous. The earliest examples we find are from Escoffier. Unfortunately, he chose not to enlighten us with regards to the American connection. The classic 1961 edition of Larousse Gastronomique notes in the entry for Beefsteak a l'americaine "This dish is often prescribed in a building-up diet." (p. 120).

[1903]

"Beefsteak a l'Americaine. Cut off a piece of the head of the fillet, remove any fat or sinew and finely chop the flesh, seasoning it with salt and pepper...

Beefsteak a la Tartare. Prepare the steak as for Beefsteak a l'Americaine but without the egg yolk on top. Serve Sauce Tartare separately."

---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, first translation into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire in its entirety [John Wiley:New York] 1979 (p. 278-9)

Madame E. Saint-Ange (La Bonne Cuisine, circa 1929) notes "Steak Tartar is a culinary fantasy made of raw ingredients." She does not offer any other information regarding the origin of the name, nor does she offer a recipe for Steak A L'Americaine.

Chicken Tartare is a fully cooked dish served with Tartare sauce.

Sweetbreads

"Precisely which internal organ of a calf, lamb, etc. the word sweetbread ought to be applied to is a matter of considerable controversy, but in practice it is clear that for centuries it has been employed for both the 'pancreas,' and the 'thymus gland' used for food. And historically these have been distinguished as, respectively, the heart, stomach, or belly sweetbread and the throat, gullet, or neck sweetbread. It is not certain where the name comes from (it first turns up in the middle of the sixteenth century, in Tomas Cooper's Thesaurus) but, unless it originally had some deeply-dyed euphemistic undercurrents, it would seem to reflect the glands' reputation as prized delicacies (unusual amongst offal) which survives to this day. It is possible that the second element represents not modern English bread by the Old English word broed, meaning 'flesh'."

---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 331)

"Although sweetbreads (fr. Ris de veau and Ris d'agneau) are always sold under that name alone, as if there were but one sort, there are two distinct white glands, taken from calves or lambs, covered by that name, and one placed immediately below the throat and the other, rounder in shape, lying nearer the heart, and very much the better from the gastronome's point of view. The first or 'throat' sweetbreads are elongated in form and neither so white nor so fat as the other sort, which would always be chosen by discriminating cooks."

---Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon, complete and unabridged [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 491)

"Sweetbread: the soft, milky thymus glands of the young calf and lamb, the former being the more highly esteemed and considered one of the greatest of all meat delicacies...The glands are divided into the "throat sweetbread" and the "heart sweetbread," the latter being generally preferred because of its special tenderness and large size. They are most delicate when obtained from a young calf, and they gradually disappear after it is turned out to grass...The Pancreas of the older animal, frequently but incorrectly styled "sweetbread," and also known as the "Belly Sweetbread," is an entirely gland, but it bears a resemblance sufficiently close to warrant its consideration under this heading."

---The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [New York] 1911 (p. 610-611)

A survey of sweetbread notes through time

[16th century Italy: Martino]

"How to Make Veal and Kid Sweetbreads Pottage

Take a libra of sweetbreads and boil well; when cooked through, crush thoroughly on a cutting board as you would with the best of them; and take five hard eggs yolks that have been well crushed and add together with the sweetbreads in a mortar and grind; then take a little good fatty capon broth or sukling calf broth and thin; put in a pot on hot coals away from the flame, and when it boils, add a little verjuice, if it pleases your master; and when it is done, remove from heat and add a bit of saffron and ginger; then take three or four well-beaten egg yolks and add, stirring vigorously so that the pottage does not go bad; and before dividing in bowls, add a half ounce of rose water, and when you serve, top with sugar and cinnamon. Veal and kid sweetbreads can be prepared similarly. Note that they should be only lightly seasoned."

---The Art of Cooking, Martino of Como, edited and with an introduction by Luigi Ballerini, Translated and annotated by Jeremy Parzen [University of California Press:Berkeley] 2005 (p. 119)

[17th century England: May]

"To make Pies of Sweet-breads or Lamb stones

Parboil them and blanche them, or raw sweetbreads or stones, part them in halves, & season them with pepper, nutmeg, and salt, season them lightly; then put in the bottom of the pie some slices of interlarded bacon,& some pieces of artichocks or mushrooms, then sweet-breads or stones, marrow, gooseberries, barberries, grapes, or slic't lemon, close it up and bake it, being baked liquor it with butter only. Or otherwise with butter, white wine, and sugar, and sometimes add some yolks of eggs."

---The Accomplist Cook, Robert May, facsimile 1685 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 1994 (p. 231-2)

[17th century France: La Varenne]

"Sweetbreads stuck. Take the fairest you can get, and best shaped, whiten them in cold water, stick them and put them on a prick; rost them very neatly, and after they are roasted, serve them with the juice of a lemon upon them. "Sweetbreads with ragoust. After they are whitened, cut them into slices, and pass them in the pan, or whole, if you iwll, with large, and well seasoned with parsley, chibol whole, mushrums and truffles, and after they are well stoved with good broth, and the sauce being short and well thickened, serve."

---The French Cook, Francois Pierre, La Varenne, translated into English in 1653 by I.D.G. [Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 83-84)

[18th century England: Glasse]

"There are many Ways of dressing Sweetbreads: You may lard them with thin Slips of Bacon, and roast them with what Sauce you please; or you may marinate them, cut them into thin Slices, flour them, and fry them. Serve them up with fry'd Parsley, and either Butter or Gravy. Garnish with Lemon."

---The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile 1747 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 1995 (p. 30)

[19th century France: Ude]

"Sweetbreads a la Dauphine

If you use round dishes, you must have four sweetbreads; if a long dish, three large ones will be sufficient. Mind, at any rate, to select them of a large size and very white. Pare the sinews and the fat; threw them into warm water, and let them disgorge, to draw out the blood, and make them as white as possible. When thoroughly disgorged, blanch the a little in boiling water to make them firm, that you may lard them with greater facility. As soon as they are larded, rub a stew-pan all over with butter, cut a few carrots and onions over the butter; cover this with some fat bacon, lay the sweetbreads over the bacon, powder them over with salt, and stew them with a great deal of fire on the top, and very little beneath. When they are of a fine brown, cover them with a round of paper, and lessen the fire on the top. If they are large, it will require three-quarters of an hour to do them. If they are too much done, they become soft, and are not so palatable. When properly done, drain them, and put in a pan with some glaze till dinner-time; then drain them afresh, and glaze them of a fine brown. Serve them up with sorrel or endive. There is no necessity to moisten a sweetbread, as they have so much original moisture, that they will never be too dry."

---The French Cook, Louis Eustache Ude, orignally published in Paris 1828 [Arco Publishing:New York] 1978 (p. 143-144)

[NOTE: recipes for Sweetbreads a la Financier and a la Dreux included.]

[19th century Italy: Artusi]

"Animelle alla Bottiglia (sweetbreads with wine sauce)

While lamb sweetbreads do not need any prior preparation, sweetbreads from larger animals must first be cooked halfway in water, and skinned if necessary. Leave the former whole but cut the latter into pieces. Dredge well in flour, brown in butter, and season with salt and pepper. The moisten with Marsala or Madeira wine, and bring to a boil. Tou can also make a sauce separately with a pinch of flour, a bit of butter, and the wine. If you enhance them with brown stock, instead of being just good, they will become delicious."

---Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Pellegrino Artusi, originally published in 1891 [Marsilio Publishers:New York] 1997 (p. 249)

[NOTE: this book also offers a recipe for Crochette D'Animelle (sweetbread croquettes).]

[19th century England: Cassells]

"Sweetbreads should be chosen as fresh as possible, as they very quickly spoil. There are two sorts--heart sweetbreads and throat sweetbreads. The heart sweetbreads are the best, and also the most expensive. In whatever way sweetbreads are dressed, they should first be soaked in lukewarm water for a couple of hours. They should then be put into boiling water and simmered gently for five or ten minutes, according to size, and when taken up they should be laid in cold water. Sweetbreads vary considerably in price, according to the time of year. They are quite as frequently employed as ingredients in sundry made dishes, such as vol-au-vents, ragouts, &c., as served alone, and as they do not possess a very decided natural flavor they need to be accompanied by a highly-seasoned sauce, or they will taste rather insipid. They are in full season from May to August."

---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with numerous illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 947)

[NOTE: this book offers recipes from Sweetbreads a la Dauphine, Sweetbreads a la Maitre d'Hotel, Sweetbread Kromeskies, Pie of Sweetbreads and Palates, Sweetbreads and Palates Stewed, Sweetbreads au Gratin, Baked, Broiled, Browned, Cold, Cotolets, Croquettes, Cutlets, Fricasseed cutlets, Fried, Larded, Minced in paper cases, Patties, Ragout, Roast, s Stewed, Vol-au Vent, White, with Mushrooms, and with Truffles.]

[20th century France: Child]

"Sweetbreads and brains have much the same texture and flavor, but brains are more delicate. They both receive almost the same treatments. Both must be soaked for several hours in cold water before they are cooked, to soften the filament which covers them so that it may be removed, to dissolve their bloody patches, and to whiten them. Some authorities direct that they always be blanched before cooking--that is, poached in salted and acidulated water or a court bouillon; others do not agree. If the sweetbreads or brains are to be braised, blanching is a useless and flavor-losing step. If they are to be sliced and sauteed, blanching firms them up so they are easier to cut, but removes some of their delicacy and tenderness. Both brains and sweetbreads are perishable, and if they are not to be cooked within 24 hours, they should be soaked and blanched which will help to preserve them. Soaking Sweetbreads and Brains. Wash in cold water, then place in a bowl and soak in several changes of cold water or under a dripping tap for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Delicately pull off as much as you easily can of the filament which encloses them, without tearing the flesh. This is a rather slow process. Soak them again for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, this time in several changes of cold water containing 1 tablespoon of vinegar per quart. Peel off as much more filament as you can, and they are ready for trimming and cooking. Trimming. A whole sweetbread, which is they thymus gland of a calf and usually weighs about 1 pound, consists of 2 lobes connected by a soft, white tube, the cornet. The smoother, rounder, and more solid of the two lobes is the kernel, heart, or noix, the choicest part. The second lobe, called throat sweetbread or gorge, is more uneven in shape, broken by veins, and is often slit. Separate the two lobes from the tube with a knife. The tube may be added to the stock pot.

"Blanching Sweetbreads Sweetbreads, trimmed and soaked as in preceding directions

An enameled saucepan just large enough to hold them

Cold water

Per quart water: 1 Tsp salt and 1 Tb lemon juice

Place sweetbreads in saucepan and cover by 2 inches with cold water; add salt and lemon juice. Bring to simmer and cook, uncovered, at barest simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and lunge into cold water for 5 minutes. Drain. The sweetbreads are now ready for sauteeing."

---Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle & Julia Child [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1963 (p. 408-409)

[NOTE: This book offers recipes for Ris de Veau Braises (braised sweetbreads), Ris de Veau a la Creme, Ris de Veay a la Marechale (creamed sweetbreads), Ris de Veau a la Creme et au Champignons (creamed sweetbreads with mushrooms), Ris de Veau au Gratin (sweetbreads au gratin) and Escalopes de Ris de Veau Sautes (Sweetbreads sauteed in butter).]

[20th century England: Grigson]

"Skuets. I first came across this recipe in French, in Careme's L'art de la cuisine francaise au dix-neuvieme siecle, which first came out in 1833. He describes it as an English recipe, and praises it. I imagine he may have come across it in England while he was working for the Prince Regent. The odd thing is that it is not in the most popular cookery books of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. I came across it eventually in The Compleat Housewife, by E. Smith, a reprint from the fifteenth and eighteenth editions, of 1753 and 1773...This early recipe lacks the bread sauce, and the crumbs are pressed into the skuets of meat before they are hung up to roast before the fire. Careme's refinements really make the dish.

For 4

500 g (1 lb) veal or lamb sweetbreads

Salt

Light veal or chicken stock

2 teaspoons lemon juice or wine vinegar

8 thin rashers of smoked streaky bacon

16 mushrooms

Chopped parsley and thyme

Freshly ground pepper

Browned breadcrumbs

Bread sauce

To prepare sweetbreads, place them in a bowl and ocver them with water. Stir in a tablespoon of salt. Leave for an hour or longer if you like. If they are frozen, leave them for several hours. Drain them, rinse them with cold water and place them in a pan. Pour enought stock over them to cover them by about 1/2 cm (1/4"), and add the lemon and vinegar. Bring slowly to the boil, and simmer gently until they lose their raw pinkish white look and turn opaque. This takes a couple of minutes with lamb's sweetbreads; veal sweetbreads, being much larger, can take 20 minutes. Pour off the cooking liquor, which can be used in soups and sauces (some sweetbread recipes use the stock to make the appropriate sauce). Run the sweetbreads under the cold tap and pull off the gristly bits. Go carefully, though; if you pull off too much, sheep's sweetbreads will disintegrate into very small knobs. Put the sweetbreads on a plate, with another plate on top to press them. They can now be left in the refrigerator for later use, or overnight. To assemble the skuets, cut the sweetbreads into slices or chunks about an inch wide, and divide them into four even rows. Cut the bacon into enough small pieces to go between them, and put them in place. The mushrooms should be fitted in at appropriate intervals. Scatter with chopped parsley and thyme. Now take four skewers and run them through the four lines of sweetbreads and bacon, etc. Brush them over with melted butter and grill them under a medium heat for about 15 minutes. Serve them on a long dish over with the browned crumbs. The bread sauce should go in a separate bowl."

---English Food, Jane Grigson, originally published in 1974 [Penguin Books:London] 1992 (p. 148-149)

[NOTE: Bread Sauce recipe is included in this book. We can send if you like.]

Swiss steak

Why call it "Swiss steak?"

"Swiss steak. Sliced beef rump or round baked with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and sometimes seasoning such as thyme, rosemary, basil or chile. In England it would be called "smothered steak," but there is really no direct corollary for the dish in Switzerland, the closest being carbonades. The name may derive instead from an English term, "swissing," which refers to a method of smoothing out cloth between a set of rollers, because Swiss steak is usually pounded and flattened before cooking."

---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 319-320)

"Swiss steak. The original name of this recipe was 'Schmor Braten.' It is three centuries old."

---The Gold Cook Book, Louis P. De Gouy [Galahad Books:New York] 1946 (p. 345)

[NOTES: (1) No additional history provided; recipe follows. (2) Schmor Braten is German for braised beef (3) Mimi Sheraton's German Cookbook 1965 (p. 153-154) contains a recipe for Vienna Steak with Braised Onions, Weiner Rostbraten, which treats steaks as Swiss steak.]

Swiss steak recipe evolution

"The first recipe I've been able to find for Swiss Steak appears in the Larkin Housewives' Cook Book (1915). Nothing more than browned, inch-thick beef round in water with bottled onion extract, it barely resembles the tomato-rich versions we know and love today. Two years later Ida Baily Allen (Mrs. Allen's Cook Book) offers a Swiss Steak nearer our own except that it cooks stovetop. The tomatoey baked variety seems to have surfaced in the 1930s. In Meals, Tested, Tasted, and Approved, a 1930 Good Housekeeping cookbook, there is an early Swiss steak called Tomato Steak. In 1934, John MacPherson, radio's famous "Mystery Chef," offers a true Swiss Steak and calls it that, too, in the Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book."

---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Reicpes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 91)

[NOTE: New recipes are uploaded to article databases & the Internet daily.]

"When ground beef palled and sirloin steak or standing rib roast were out of reach for the postwar pocketbook, Swiss steak was an inexpensive, hearty substitute...Who, exactly, invented Swiss steak is a muster...the dish was not common in cookbooks until the Forties. The method of pounding the meat wtih flour and then braising it would seem to point to Pennsylvania Dutch origins, but there is no hard evidence of this. Cora, Rose, and Bob Brown identified it in the Forties as a Wyoming specialty, while Clementine Paddleford spotted it in Indiana."

---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:New York] 1995 (p. 141-2)

[1909]

"Swiss Steak.

Take a round steak, about two to two and a half inches thick, and pound into it as much flour as it will take. When the flour has been pounded into it on both sides put the meat into an iron skillet and cook as you would any steak. The cover it with water, set it on the back of the stove, cover skillet tightly, and cook for one hour, adding water when necessary and flour to make a thick gravy.-R."

---"Hints and Recipes to Aid the Practical Housekeeper," Chicago Daily Tribune, October 3, 1909 (p. F3) [1913] "Swiss Steak.

Use round steak, about an inch thick, at seventeen to twenty cents a pound; pound well on both sides; dip in flour and cook, without cutting, in skillet containing hot lard; season well with salt and pepper, and keep turning until both sides are nicely browned. Then pour over it boiling water until the meat is covered. Keep it boiling about an hour with skillet covered, adding more water uf necessary unntil the meat seems very tender; then let it cook slowly on the back lid of the stove until the gravy thickens. The result will be a delicious steak, with rich brown gravy."

---Econoomy Administration Cook Book, [W.B. Conkey Co.:Hammond IN] 1913 (p. 196)

[NOTE: This recipe was submitted by Miss Mairian M. George, Los Angeles CA.] "Swiss Steak

Use a piece of round steak about two inches thick into which pound half a cup of flour, a little salt and pepper. Brown in a little fat or butter, cover with hot water, simer with lid oer it for two hours."

---ibid, (p. 219)

[NOTE: THis recipe was submitted by Mrs. George H. Hodges, Kansas.] [1915]

"Swiss Steak.

Have two pounds of round steak cut one inch thick. Melt two tablespoons of fat (suet will do) in a frying pan, season steak with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, brown quickly on both sides then put into a Larkin Casserole. Brown a scant half cup flour in fat left in fat, add three cups hot water, pour over meat. Cook for two hours in a slow oven. If onion is liked, flavor with Larkin Onion Extract, or cook a raw onion in the fat before the meat is browned. The toughest meat will become tender and delicious.--Mrs. D. H. Dager, LaFayette Hill, Pa."

---Larkin Housewives' Cook Book [Larkin Co.:Chicago IL] 1915 (p. 20)

[NOTE: Larkin Company was a food & kitchenware manufacturer. (2) Cook book was compiled by the company.] [1930]

"Swiss Steak.

Round steak (1 inch thick) 2 pounds.

Butter 2 tablespoons.

White onions (small) 3.

Salt 1 teaspoon. Carrots (small) 3.

White pepper to taste.

Trim steak and pound to half inch thickness. Cut into 5 equal portions. Dredge meat with flour. Heat butter and drippings in skillet, sear both sides of each piece of meat. Cut carrots in rounds 1/8 inch thick. Brown and place on bottom of baking dish, add meat, the onions cut in 1/2-inch rounds and browned. Brown remainder of flour in skillet. Add water or stock, salt and pepper. Pour over meat and cook covered for 1 hour in moderate oven--Mrs. Katherine L. Neilson."

---Chicago Daily News Cook Book, Edith G. Shuck editor [Chicago Daily News:Chicago IL] 1930 (p. 140) [1934]

"Swiss Steak

2 lbs. round or flank steak

1 small can tomatoes

3 tablespoons drippings or shortening

1 medium sized onion chopped fine

1 cup water

1/4 teaaspoon pepper

1 teaaspoon salt

1/2 cup sifted flour

Sprikle a little water over the steak. Sift into arge bowl or onto large plate, then put oour steak into flour and press as much flour into the steak as you can. Put the drippings or shortening into a large frying pan and when sizzling hot put the floured steak in. Brown the steak thoroughly on both sides. The steak can either be cooked on top of the stove or in the oven; whichever way you cook it the pot or baking pan should have a lid. Grease the pot or baking pan with a litte dripping and transfer the browned steak to it. Now put the cup of water into the frying pan the steak was browned in, and let the water boil while you run a fork over the pan to loosen up any of the steak juices and flour that may be sticking to the pan. Then pour the boiling water from the frying pan over the steak, add 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped, and add a small can of tomatoes; add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn flame down and cover the pan or pot with a lid, and allow to simmer for 2 hours, If cooked in the oven, cover the baking pan and bake in a slow oven for 2 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes (See page 101)."

---Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, John MacPherson [Blakiston Company:Philadelphia PA] 1934, 1945 (p. 88-89) [1942]

"Swiss Steak

1 1/2 b. round steak

1/4 c. flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 1/2 c. cannned tomatoes

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 lb. fat

---Granddaugher's Inglenook Cookbook, [Brethren Publishing House:Elgin IL] 1942, 1946 (p. 192)

[NOTE: Other recipes under the Swiss Steak heading in this book are: Spanish Round Steak, Swiss Steak en Casserole and Swiss Steak with Rice. Happy to scan/send free of charge.] [1945]

"A tender, juicy Swiss steak is excellent fare for fall dinners. Buy no-point beef and cook it slowly for full, meaty flavor and tenderness. A piece of chuck cut from the shoulder of beef is a good choice...Add very little liquid. The juice of a small lemon in half a cupful of hot water is about right...The lemon is an effective tenderizer and adds zest to the gravy. Red table wine is the right kind if you like to cook meats with wine...The oven temperature for Swiss Steak is 325 degrees, allow three hours for a three-pound steak.

Swiss Steak

3 pound piece utility beefsteak

1/2 cup flour

Seasonings

1 onion

1/2 cup hot water

Juice small lemon

Method--Cut meat into serving-size pieces and pound well. Rub with seasonings and flour. Heat suet in heavy pan, add meat and brown well on both sides. Sprinkle chpped onion over meat, add water and lemon juice. Cover pan and cook over very low heat for three hours Make brown gravy from drippings in pan. To improve the flavor and brown color of gravy add two teaspoons taste-type beef extract."

---"Swiss Steak Cookery Secret Told," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1945 (p. A5) [1949]

"Swiss steak

The steak should be cut at least 2 inches thick. Use 1/2 cup flour for a slice of meat weighing 2 pounds and mix well with salt and pepper. Pound flour thoroughly into the meat with a wooden potato maher, or the edge of a heavy plate. Heat 1/4 cup of the fat strained from ham or bacon, and brown eat on eac side in this fat. Then add a few slices of onions and 1/2 green pepper, chopped fine, 2 cups of boiling water or part strained tomato. Cover closely and let simmer 2 hours, or cook in a casserole in the oven. Swiss Steak may be cooked without any liquid, if preferred, as its own moisture is sufficient. The onion may be omitted or other vegetables added as desired. Swiss Steak is popular not only in Wyoming, but throughout the cattle country, wherever folks are still able to get hold of steaks 2 inches thick without going bankrupt. And incidentally, out West a slice of ham still weighs at least 1/4 pound, while in the effete East it has shrunk to about 1/4 ounce (For Swiss Cream Steak see Nebraska.)"

---America Cooks: Favorite Recipes from the 48 States, The Browns, Cora, Rose, and Bob [Garden City Books:Garden City NY] 1949 (p. 929-930)

[NOTE: This recipe is listed as a Wyoming specialty.] "Swiss Cream Steak.

2 pounds round steak

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Flour

1/4 cup butter or lard

2 onions, sliced

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons grated cheese

Cut meat into pieces for serving. Dust with salt, pepper, paprika, and flour; brown on both sides in fat in which onions have been cooked and removed. Add cooked onions water, and cream, to whoch grated cheese has been added Cover pan tightly and let simmer until meat is tender."

---ibid, (p. 519)

[NOTE: This recipe is in the Nebraska section.] [1960]

"Swiss Steak

3 1/2 pouds round steak, cut 1 inch thick

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup bacon drippings

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon finely chopped green pepper

1 can (1 pound, 13 ounces) tomatoes

1 can (14 ounces) tomato juice (optional)

Place meat on board, sprinkle half of the combined flour and salt on one side and pound with a meat hammer for 1 minute. Turn over, sprinkle with the remaining flour and pound for 1 minute. Heat drippings in heavy skillet, and add mmeat; brown on each side until golden brown. Add onion and let cook for about 1 minute, the add remaining ingredients, except tomato juice. Cover pan, reduce heat and cook slowly for 1 1/2 hours. If liquid isn't sufficient, open a can of tomato juice and add as needed. Yield: 6 portions."

---How America Eats, Clementine Paddleford [Charles Scribner's Sone:New York] 1960 (p. 384)

[NOTE: This dish appears in the Indiana section.] [1964]

"The thing that makes 'swiss steak' out of round steak is the thickness of the cut more than the preparation, tho a swiss steak is almost always braised and almost always has a tomato sauce. The meat should be cut at least an inch thick; sometimes it is sliced as thick as 1 1/2 inches. Saucy swiss steak is a new variation of one of our favorite dishes. It is seasoned with chili powder and the sauce has big chunks of ripe olives to give it more interest.

Saucy Swiss Steak

[Six to eight servings]

2 1/4 pounds round steak cut thick

Salt, pepper, flour

2 tablespoons shortening

2 cans [8 ounces each] tomato sauce

1 cup hot water

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 tablespoons cold water

1 cup ripe olives

Cut steak into serving pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. Heat shortening in skillet. Add meat and brown well on both sides. Add tomato sauce and hot water. Cover; simmer until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Moisten chli powder in cold water. Cut olives into large wedges. Stir chili powder and olives into meat mixture and simmer 15 minutes more."

---"Swiss Steak Bites Back,' Mary Meade, Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1964 (p. A2) [1972]

"Family-Best Swiss Steak

Dinner's always a hit with this easy-fix beef boice. And the rich gravy tastes so good over fluffy mashed potatoes! Makes 4 servings.

1 boneless chuck or round beefsteak, weighing about 2 pounds

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoos vegetable oil 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 cup chopped celery

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon leaf marjoram, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Rub steak with flour to coat generously; brown in vegetable oil in a large heavy frying pan or in an electric skillet; remove and set aside for next step.

2. Saute onion and celery until soft in same frying pan; stir in remaining ingredients. Return steak to pan; cover.

3. Simmer 2 hours, or until meat is very tender. Remove to a heated serving platter; keep hot while fixing the gravy.

4. Let gravy stand in pan about a minute, or until fat rises to top; skim off all fat; reheat gravy to boiling.

5. Cut steak into 1/4-inch-thick slices; serve with gravy."

---Family Circle Illustrated Library of Cooking [Rockville House Publishers:Rockville Centre NY] 1972, volume 15 (p. 1896) [1985]

"According to Webster, Swiss Steak is 'a slice of round steak into which flour is pounded on both sides and which is then browned in fat and smoothered in tomatoes and other vegetables and seasonings.' The other vegetables are, as a rule, onion and celery. Why Swiss Steak is called 'Swiss' is anyone's gudess. Culinary history buffs have not yet, to my knowledge, tracked down the origin of its name. Recipes for Swiss Steak started croppig up in the last half of the 1920s. It was considered economical because the round steak called for offered little waste and it became a favorite family dish. In one well-circulated cookbook of that period, bacon drippings were used for browning the steak and green peas were added. Nowadays cooks are still devising variations. In the following recipe, recently developed by a California cook mushroos are used. Seasonings, too, have changed. In early recipes only salt, pepper and garlic might have been added. In the following recipe basil, oregano and thyme are called for.

Swiss Steak

1 1/2 pounds round steak about 1-inch thick

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons (about) vegetable oil

1 large (6 ounces) onion, sliced

1 large rib celery, sliced

1/4 pound (generous) mushrooms, diced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

8-ounce can stewed tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed basil

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed thyme

Trim excess fat from a round steak. With edge of heavy saucer or meat mallet pouund flour into both sides of steak, Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil. Add steak and brown well on both sides over medium-high heat. Place steak in baking dish (about 12 by 8 by 2 inches). In drippings in skillet, lighty cook onion, clelry, mushrooms and garlic. Stir in tomatoes, basil, oregano and thyme. Pour over steak. Cover tightly with foil. Bake in 300-degree oven (no need to preheat) until steak is tender-1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Place steak on a hot platter, keeping vegetables on meat. If necessary, skim excess fat from juices and pour around steak. Serve at once. Makes 4 servings."

---"Swiss Steak Can Take on Many Variations," Cecily Brownstone, Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1985 (p. 44)

Tempura

"The earliest record of tempura is from the end of the sixteenth century, and it probably came from a cooking method introduced by Portuguese missionaries. In the late Edo period the term meant different things in Kansai and Edo, according to an encyclopedia of customs from the mid-nineteenth century...The Tempura of Kyoto and Osaka was what is now known as satsuma-age...Frying with pil or fat was rare in the Japanese diet that developed through medieval times. The main exception was the vegetarian food eaten in and around Zen temples, with its deep-fried bean curd and wheat gluten. It was during the Edo period that the general population acquired a taste for food cooked in oil, due to the stpread of oil-based cooking styles introduced from abroad: Portuguese-inspired tempura in the sixteenth century, and the Chinese-style fucha and shippoku cooking that crystalized in Nagasaki during the seventeenth century. Only sesame oil, which was expensive, had been used for cooking until the Edo period. Then, as cheaper rapeseed oil came into production, mainly for lighting, the new oil-pressing techniques were introduced, the stage was set for the popularization of deep-fried foods. Tempura is one of the national dishes of Japan that developed into its current form in the city of Edo...Tempura became popular in the 1770s as a snack food sold at street stalls, where the customers ate standing and did not use chopsticks. The morsels of fish, prawns and vegetables were stuck on bamboo skewers, coated with batter, deep-fried and eaten on the spot, as an inexepensive food for the common people. Tempura restaurants first appeared at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and by the middle fo the century were lsited in Edo restaurant guides, indicating tempura had come to be appreciated by people of higher social standing."

---The History and Culture of Japanese Food, Naomichi Ishige [Kegan Paul:London] 2001 (p. 246)

"The c