Vintage Recipes

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“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” —James Beard

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Grandpa's New Year's Eve Sauerkraut and Dumplings

Terry L. Beech

makingsauerkraut

Story submitted by Terry L. Beech, one of our professional sharpeners at the farmers markets.

I remember tasting sauerkraut when I was about 6 years old, which would have been around 1949. My grandfather Victor Dry stored his kraut in my family's springhouse* which was below ground, dark, and maintained a constant temperature in the low 50s year around. Ever year in late October, he'd show up at our house with his 20 gallon crock of kraut and he'd come by every couple of weeks to do his little maintenance routine until it was ready.

I accompanied him a couple of times when I was about 10 to the springhouse as he did his maintenance tricks. He removed the heavy rock holding down the lid that fit just inside the walls of the crock. He'd take out the moldy cheesecloth covering the top of the kraut and replace it with a clean one. He'd clean the lid and place it back on top of the crock. And then he'd replace the stone that kept the lid tight down on his prized kraut. To this day I remember that pungent, but slightly sweet cabbage smell mixed with the smell of potatoes that we also kept in the springhouse.

victor-and-daisy-dry Grandpa Dry's sauerkraut made its debut every New Years Eve in a dish we called Grandpa’s Sauerkraut and Dumplings.

Here's a photo of my grandfather Victor Dry and his new bride Daisy Mae, taken around 1910. He worked for the gas company (natural gas) in western Pennsylvania most of his life maintaining the large pumping engines. They raised 9 children, including my mother Phyllis.

— Terry L. Beech

Grandpa's Sauerkraut and Dumplings

Terry says, "The outcome of this dish is highly dependent on the quality of the sauerkraut. Locally handmade kraut will be more flavorful and healthier than canned national brands. Herbs and spices are often included in the handmade varieties eliminating the need for additional salt, herbs and spices in this dish. Prepare this dish with three pints Farmhouse Culture’s Classic Sauerkraut and one half pint Holy Smokes with smoked jalapeño peppers.”

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 – 2 1/2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder roast, cut into 1-inch slices, across the grain
1 1/2 quarts quality sauerkraut (Farmhouse Culture)
2-12 ounce bottles of your favorite dark beer (I like to use Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale)
2 cups self-rising biscuit/dumpling mix (Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Buttermilk biscuit mix)
1 egg (for dumplings)
1/4 cup cooking oil or butter (for dumplings)

METHOD:

Season pork slices on both sides with pepper. In an 8-quart heavy pot, heat the olive oil over high heat, and just as it begins to smoke, add the slices of pork. Sear pork on both sides until slightly browned, about 15 minutes, allowing the liquid from the meat to reduce to form a flavorful meat juice.

Add the sauerkraut all at once to the meat, stir the kraut in and reduce the heat to low.

Add the beer to the pot one bottle at a time to just about cover the kraut and pork. The beer provides liquid for cooking and mellows the sauerkraut bite. Reduce heat and cook, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings. Follow the directions on the package for preparing biscuits plus adding the egg and oil (or butter). Add additional liquid to the dumplings if the dough is too stiff.

After the pork and kraut have cooked for 30 minutes, use a large spoon to place dollops of the dumpling mixture on top of the simmering sauerkraut mixture. Distribute the dumplings all over the top of the kraut. Cover the pot so the dumplings can steam for about 15 minutes.

The pork, sauerkraut and dumpling can be served on a plate or in a bowl. Leftovers are excellent!

YIELD: 6-8 servings

SOURCE: Recipe courtesy of Terry L. Beech of Quick-Sharp

*A springhouse was a small building used for refrigeration once commonly found in rural areas before the advent of electric refrigeration. It was usually a one-room building constructed over the source of a cold spring and was used to store meat, dairy products, fruit, and vegetables.

Calico Beans — A Fall Favorite

Annaliese Keller

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This popular midwestern dish is known by other names such as Cowboy Beans or Cowboy Calico Beans, but in our family, it was known as Calico Beans (by the adults) or Halloween Beans by the kids. My mother in law, a sweet lady who hailed originally from Iowa, brought this recipe home to California after attending a family reunion. It was her favorite "go-to" dish to serve on Halloween, a busy evening when all of her grandchildren visited her to show off their costumes and the doorbell rang non-stop with neighborhood trick-or-treaters. We could always count on a crock pot full of simmering Calico Beans ready to feed this small army of grandchildren, work-weary parents and any one else who stopped by.

Over the years I've adapted it slightly to use a few favorite local ingredients and slightly reduced the amount of sugar in the recipe. To this day, this dish brings back fond memories of a thoughtful grandmother who welcomed a house full of overly-excited little grandchildren (waiting impatiently to go trick-or-treating) and made Halloween a lot of fun for the parents, too.

Serve beans with freshly baked warm cornbread.

Elaine's Calico Beans

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Corralitos apple-smoked bacon, cut into 1" strips
1 lb. Old Creek Ranch ground beef (or turkey)
2 medium red onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 15 oz. can butter beans, drained
1 - 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained
1 - 15 oz. can light kidney beans, drained
1 - 15 oz. can black beans, drained
1 - 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained
1 - 28 oz. can pork and beans, with their liquid
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons smoked paprika

METHOD:

Cook and crisp the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Remove the bacon to drain on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and brown the ground beef in the same pot.

When the beef is 50% browned, add the onion and garlic to the pot and continue browning the beef until completely cooked. Add the bacon and stir to combine.

Drain all the cans of beans (except the pork and beans) and add them to the beef and bacon mixture. Stir well to combine and add the remainder of ingredients. Mix well and simmer on low heat until completely heated through.

Cover and transfer the pot into a preheated 350°F oven and bake for 45 minutes. Cool slightly and serve.

Apricot Prune Pie — A Labor of Love!

Annaliese Keller

Elsie-1

Photo: "Elsie came out and did some harvest cutting in July with her some of her great grandchildren. So much fun and love going on that day!"

Story submitted by Denise Cauthen-Wright

Elsie-and-Emil-1 When Elsie Bozzo married the love of her life, Emil Rossi, they farmed orchards of walnuts, prunes and apricots in Hollister, California. She wondered, "What's a girl supposed to do with all these harvests?" Although she did not have a recipe to follow, she was a great baker and worked on perfecting a very special dessert with her husband’s orchards in mind.

This simple but delicious apricot-prune pie became Emil’s all time favorite dessert. Elsie still makes it once in awhile for her family and has handed down the recipe to her great grandchildren and now passes it on you!

This open faced pie is delicious served warm with pure vanilla ice cream or topped with whipped cream, the way Emil liked it. Enjoy and carry on this heritage recipe with your family. To see more photos of B & R Farm and Elsie, visit their Facebook.

Elsie Rossi’s Heritage Apricot-Prune Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups B & R Farms dried Blenheim apricots
1 1/2 cup dried pitted prunes
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 pie shell recipe
1 cup heavy cream, lightly sweetened and whipped

METHOD:

Place apricots and prunes in a stainless steel saucepan and add enough water to cover fruit by one inch. Bring to a boil and continue to cook over high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until fruit is softened. Drain liquid from fruit. (Reserve cooking liquid for another use, if desired.)

Place drained fruit in large mixing bowl. Add sugar, nuts, sugar, zest and vanilla to fruit and stir to combine. Stir in melted butter, mixing thoroughly.

Spoon filling into prepared pie shell. Bake 1 hour at 350°F. When ready to serve, top with whipped cream.

Fried Green Tomatoes and Onion Sandwiches

Annaliese Keller

Fried-Green-Tomato-Sand

Chef Owen Snyder (affectionately known as "Papa O" around here) recalls a childhood favorite — "On cold days, our mother would fry up these sandwiches for my brother and me. We never forgot them and on holidays when our families get together we fry up a batch. We still use white bread (I know...), but that’s the way we remember them."

PAPA O’S FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AND ONION SANDWICHES

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 inch slices of green (preferred when in season) or red tomatoes, Beefsteaks are preferable
1/2 inch slices of yellow onion
2 cups all purpose flour OR cornmeal, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 cups canola oil for frying
1 loaf white bread, or thick artisan style country breads

METHOD:

Heat oil in sauté pan until oil is hot. You can tell oil is hot enough by dropping a little flour in the oil and it will bubble up quickly.

Dredge the onions and tomatoes in the flour or cornmeal and carefully fry the pieces in the oil turning once. Hint: use tongs for placing the tomatoes and onions in the oil or drop them in the oil by laying them down away from you.

Fry until a golden coating is visible on the tomatoes and onions, using tongs or a fork to turn. Repeat with remaining pieces in batches and drain on paper towels. Salt and pepper to taste.

Place the tomatoes and onions on the bread and enjoy.

Butter Dips — A 1950s Retro Recipe

Annaliese Keller

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This retro recipe was from my mother's 1956 Betty Crocker Cookbook, and she made butter dips at least once a month. Butter dips later became a family favorite with my own kids. They are very fast and easy to make because there's no shortening or butter to cut in. Simply combine the dry ingredients and add the milk to form a dough. The kids always enjoyed helping with rolling the dough strips in butter.

Somewhere between a biscuit and a breadstick, these are very tasty served with a bowl of homemade tomato soup or a hearty bowl of stew.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

METHOD:

Heat oven to 450°F.

Melt butter and pour into oblong baking pan.

Sift dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Add milk and stir slowly with fork until dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured board; knead lightly 10 times.

Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick into 8 x 12 rectangle. Cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1 inch strips. Dip each strip in melted butter on both sides and place in pan close together in two rows. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

In the original recipe, variations included: