I'm only a few weeks behind schedule, but this morning I finally got the Christmas cake into the oven! It has previously featured on the blog as Week 39 in my year of cakes, so I wasn't planning on writing another post about it, but as I reached for my trusty cook book, I thought would share the story of where it comes from.
The recipe comes from The Good Housekeeping Cookery Book which my parents received as a wedding present & Mum has since passed onto me. The book was first published in 1944, my edition I think is from 1976, it is a fabulous book & and I think a piece of foodie history. I'm not sure cook books of today provide guidance on purchasing whelks or a recipe for creamed brains? It is not an all glossy cook book, but instead has 64 pictures scattered throughout the book to showcase some of the recipes. I think this is my favourite part of the book, the pictures really capture the styling of the 70's.
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From the vegetable section, Grapefruit & Prawn Salad, Tomato Salad, Green Salad, Cucumber Salad, Mushroom Salad & Cream Cheese & Celery Salad
Buttercup Scrambles - Scrambled egg & sausage in a bread case
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Melon & Grape Cocktail
Cucumber Soup
Boned Duck with Orange Stuffing
Salomon Trout
Salads: Tossed Green, Dressed Mushroom, Potato & Chive, Tomato with Onion
Lemon Souflee or Strawberry Flan
Wedding Cake & Coffee
I have built up a collection of lovely cook books with mouth watering pictures & recipes from all over the world, but I always fall back to my battered green book for all my cooking basics. When I forget how to make pancake batter, need to work out cooking time for a joint of meat or just fancy making a classic pud, this is what I reach for. I'm pretty sure Good Housekeeping still publish a traditional cook book that is more relevant for today, but would I want to swap mine for a shiny new one...no. As well as being a piece of cooking history it's a piece of family history that I wouldn't want to part with.
So back to where we started and the main legacy of this book for the Hodgson household, the Christmas Cake! It's still in the oven (& will be for a while yet) filling the house with the most amazing smell, M has already complained that we'll have to wait another 2 months before we can eat it. We've had this cake every Christmas for as long as I can remember & now the responsibility of making it falls to me (no pressure), I hope we'll enjoy it for many more years to come.
Isn't it strange how you can become attached to a cookery book? Till next time, Rebecca x
