It’s officially the start of the Holiday Season or at least it looks it as I sit here at The Crawford County Historical Society’s annual holiday book fair. With holiday parties coming (and food on my mind), what better way to celebrate the holiday season than to make one of Katherine Reynolds’ recipes for your next holiday party!

 

Beat very light and thick the yolks of 6 eggs. Stir the eggs gradually into a quart of rich unskimmed milk, add half pound of sugar, half pint of brandy and grated nutmeg to taste. Next beat the whites of 3 eggs by themselves and stir them quickly into the mixture. Divide into two pitchers and pour it back and forward until it has a fine froth.

 

Egg Nog (No 2) Six eggs, half a pound of sugar, half a pint of brandy or whisky, three pints of cream whipped into a froth. Beat the yolks of the eggs and the sugar together until it is a froth, add the brandy or whisky, next the whites of the eggs beaten stiff, and then the whipped cream.

 

Salmon Croquettes 1 can of salmon, 1 egg well beaten, 1 / 2 cup fine bread crumbs, salt, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, juice of half a lemon. Drain off the liquid and mince the fish, melt and work in 1 tablespoon of butter, season, and if necessary moisten with a little of the liquid, add the crumbs. Form into rolls and flour thickly, and stand in a cold place an hour. Fry in hot fat, and serve on a hot platter, garnish with parsley.

Coconut Macaroons1 / 2 lb. of fine desiccated coconut. 1 / 2 lb. pulverized sugar. Whites of 2 eggs, beaten very stiff with a pinch of salt. After eggs are well beaten add sugar and beat together, add coconut, and roll into balls into your hand. Bake.

Crullers (No 1) 4 eggs, 4 tablespoons of hot lard, 5 or 6 tablespoons of sugar , a little nutmeg, salt, flour to make stiff enough to roll out, fry in hot lard.

Crullers (No 2) 2 cups sugar, 1 cup butter, 2 / 3 of pint of buttermilk or sour milk, 1 teaspoon soda, 4 or 5 eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, roll thin and cut out. Fry in hot lard.

Last Friday, I ventured out into the world of retail madness in Meadville to find more people unsuccessfully searching for the perfect Christmas present than I could count. Crowds pushed past each other to find a DVD player or new laptop, but few found a gift that was personalized to their recipient’ s interest. Well ladies and gentlemen, we have the solution to all of your gift giving needs!

The Crawford County Historical Society will be hosting their annual Holiday Book Fair this Saturday, December 5^th from 10 AM until 2 PM at the historical Society at 411 Chestnut Street. Presents for any age group or interest will be featured for your perusal and purchase along with book signings, free coffee, Christmas cookies, a door prize, and more!

This year we will be featuring two new Arcadia books for you to choose from. Picture histories of the Guys Mills area by Cheryl Weiderspahn and the Lake Erie Bessemer Railroad by Kenneth Springirth will be available for purchase along with many other local favorites. In addition, gift certificates will be available for purchase good for merchandise, memberships, services, or tours of the Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum.

Several tables will be set up featuring books relating to the Oil 150 (the anniversary of Edwin Drake’s first oil well), the railroad, including William Reynolds writings on the first railroad in our area (the Atlantic and Great Western), and much more! A special sale table will be featured to allow shoppers an opportunity to buy some of their favorites for greatly discounted prices. Several prints of local historical interest and collectibles such as glass paperweights and other creations from one of Meadville’s first glass factories, circa the 1880s will be present. In addition, a fresh pine wreath will be given away as a door prize, with all in attendance eligible to enter. No purchase is necessary for this opportunity.

Cheryl Weiderspahn will be on hand from 10am until noon to sign and dedicate her book on Guys Mills. This lifelong Crawford County resident has put together one of the most complete histories of the Guys Mills and Randolph Township area available. She will be happy to help answer questions on this area if possible.

We welcome the public to attend this event, stop in for refreshments or just to say hello and look around. We’d love to see you and we’d love to help you find that perfect gift this Christmas season!

With the Thanksgiving Holiday approaching us in just days, families are scrambling to plan menus, family and social dinners, holiday get-togethers and more. The kitchen becomes one of the most sacred of rooms in the house with aromas of upcoming supper and friends and family fill the parlor.

Katherine Reynolds was as meticulous as the next when it came to holiday meals with friends and relatives and this meal in particular may even sound familiar to a few of her guests on Thanksgiving, 1941:

Thanksgiving 1941-Cocktails and Tomato Juice, Olives, Crackers, Oysters on Half-Shell – Sauces, Soup, Rex Crackers, Celery, Radish, Turkey with Chestnuts and Parsley, Cranberry-Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Onions, Cold-Slaw, Bread, Pumpkin Pie and Cheese, Coffee

As some of you might remember, last Christmas season, we reproduced her “Christmas1959” menu in this column as well as sharing a recipe for plum pudding and golden sauce directly from Katherine Reynolds’ hand written recipe book. What better Thanksgiving gift than to share a few of her Thanksgiving favorites with you as you plan your holiday menu. Enjoy!

2 qts. tomatoes, strained

1 teacup rice (uncooked)

a pinch of whole cloves

Have prepared a beef-stock, into which put the tomatoes and rice and boil slowly till the rice is tender, add a little butter, pepper, and salt to taste.

1pt of milk scalded with 1 tbsp. butter, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 teasp. salt.

Dissolve ½ cake of compressed yeast in half a cup of lukewarm water, and add to the lukewarm milk. Stir together and add gradually 6 or 7 cups of sifted flour, beating well. Do this at bedtime. In the morning knead on the board well, using only enough flour to keep from sticking. Shape into two loaves, and let it rise until double the bulk and bake 40 minutes.Please Note: No oven temperature is listed. A suggestion would be to check a homemade bread recipe and use comparable temperature.

 

Steam the pumpkin till tender and dry, press through a colander and add the other ingredients. Bake in one crust. Makes 4 pies.Please note: Amounts of salt, cinnamon, and ginger were not included in recipe nor was oven temp and time. I would suggest looking at your favorite Pumpkin Pie recipe for amounts of these ingredients and alter for four pies. Do the same with temperature and cooking time.