Pulling from a Sorosis Club cookbook, circa 1957

I was asked about my favorite and most used cookbook. After giving it serious thought and looking at the condition of the book from use, I have come to the conclusion that “Cooking at the Crossroads” published in 1957 by the Sorosis Club of Perry is it. The recipes are handwritten and are old recipes that some of us older ones grew up eating. Before sharing some of the recipes, I want to share this quote from the forward … “It may sound quaint to the younger generation but we are old fashioned enough to believe that the idea of reaching a man’s heart through his stomach is a sound one.” I’ll be seeing you around.

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Boeuf Bourguignon by Fanita Beckham

2 pounds lean beef

2 tablespoons bacon grease

5 medium sized onions, chopped in large pieces

1 and ½ tablespoons flour

½ cup beef bouillon

Marjoram

Thyme

1 cup dry red wine

½ pound fresh mushrooms

Salt and pepper

Sauté onions in bacon drippings. Remove onions and brown thin, lean strips of beef in the same grease. When brown, sprinkle with flour, salt, pepper, thyme, and marjoram. Add bouillon and wine and simmer for 3 and ¼ hours. Add sautéed onions and mushrooms and cook for 1 hour longer. If more liquid is needed, add 1 part stock to 2 parts wine.

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Po-Boy Sandwich by Mildred Evans (Former columnist for the HHJ)

1 Loaf of unsliced French bread (Cut bread lengthwise through center.)

6 slices each salami and ham

3 slices cheese

Tomatoes, lettuce, dill pickles, hot mustard, and French dressing

Spread one side with mustard and build sandwich in order given. (Somewhere along the way, I add a thin slice of sweet Vidalia onion.) Spread other slice of bread with the French dressing. Put together and hold with toothpicks and cut in chunks to serve.

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Farm Beans by Elizabeth McCroskey

4 cans kidney beans, drained

1 can tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

½ chopped green pepper

2 large onions, sliced thin

½ pound breakfast bacon

Salt and pepper to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons chilli powder

Fry bacon until crisp and remove from pan. In fat, sauté onions and green pepper. Add beans, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Cook slowly for 1 hour or more. Just before serving add crisp bacon (crumbled) and chilli powder.

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Cabbage with Cheese Casserole by Dot Davis

Make regular white sauce a little thick and bring to a boil. Add shredded cabbage which has been boiled 5 minutes and drained. Pour into a casserole. Cover with cheddar cheese and bake until bubbly before serving.

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Chicken Brunswick Stew by Totsie Evans (I love this recipe…but omit butter beans.)

1 hen boiled and cut up as for salad. Add 1 can corn, 1 small can butterbeans, ½ bottle Worcestershire sauce, and 1 bottle catsup. Add broth and cook slowly. Just before turning off heat, adjust seasonings and stir in 1 small can of English peas. Freezes well.

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Caramel Icing by Elizabeth Nunn

3 cups sugar

1 and ½ cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon soda

Butter as desired

Vanilla

Salt

Cook all together slowly until it forms a soft ball in water. Cool and beat well.

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Chew Bread by Mamie Muse

1 box brown sugar

4 eggs (beaten and sugar added)

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon soda

2 cups chopped nuts

1 package chopped dates

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

Mix altogether and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

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Recipe for Laughter:

Advice from Phyliss Diller:

• Whatever you may look like, marry a man your own age. As your beauty fades, so will his eyesight.

• Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?

• Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.

• The reason women don’t play football is because 11 of them would never wear the same outfit in public.

• Best way to get rid of kitchen odors: Eat out.

• A bachelor is a guy who never made the same mistake once.

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