Vintage Recipe-Lemon Ice Box Pies

Starting in the 1920s when refrigerators became a staple in well appointed private kitchens

Ice box dessert recipes started cropping up in home cokes recipes files.   

These simple deserts, often made without a stove at all, but always with a long rest in the ice box, rely on whipped cream, cookies, and/or  fruits to make a cool tasty treat.

Sadly these delicious summer desserts have largely fallen out of favor.   It's really too bad because they are SO easy to make and truly delicious.  One of my favorites is this Lemon Ice Box Pie.  I use an ever so slightly modified version of the recipe from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, but there are many versions.  It's a perfect recipe for welcoming warmer days.  I make it every summer, in fact I think I may have shared the recipe on this blog before, but here it is again!


Lemon Ice Box Pie From the Magnolia Bakery

For the lemon curd

12 egg yolks at room temperature 
3 tbsp grated and minced lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice 
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

Separate the eggs while they are cold, placing the yolks in a large sauce pan.  Reserve the egg whites for another use, you can store them in a zip lock bag in the freezer and thaw them at a later date to make pavlova or another egg white recipe.   Let the yolks sit in the pan until they come to about room temperature, 30 min to an hour.  Whisk the lemon juice and zest and the sugar into the yolks.  Place the pan over medium low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the curd is thick and bubbly, about 20 min.  Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the butter,  one piece at a time.  Transfer to a container and refrigerate until cold, several hours or overnight.

For the crust
1 box Nilla wafers
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Grind the cookies in a food processor and add the butter and process until moist crumbs form.  Press into an ungreased glass  pie pan and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.  

For the filling

Chilled lemon curd 
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Beat the cream in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters until stiff peaks form.  Fold in the lemon curd and pour the mixture into the crust.   Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Garnish
Blueberries 
Lemon slices

Decorate the finished pie with blueberries and lemon slices. Enjoy!

This pie can be stored for about a week in the refrigerator, if it lasts that long.    If you want to simplify things you could use store bought lemon curd, but I think its really fun to make your own.

Happy St Patrick's Day

First thank you so much for Weasley's birthday wishes.  Second, I apologize if I haven't been visiting blogs much this week.  I am way swamped at work with many assessment and reports do on my students.   

But I didn't want to skip a St. Patrick's Day post.  (If only because I saw this picture online and had to share it)

Yesterday, I managed to get some cute shots of our two youngest kids in there "I Can't Hold My Licker" shirts from Dirt Road Dog on etsy.

I also made my favorite St. Pat's Day treat, Guiness cake (though this year I used oatmeal stout and not Guiness) 

It's so good and super easy the recipe is on the NY Times site.


In vintage news I scored what might just be my craziest hat ever, I initially questioned whether I'd have the guts to wear it.  Its a 1940s knit turban from Arthelia's Attic:

And it's about 6 inces high, very Carmen Miranda.  As my husband said it will get some stares.  Which believe it or not I don't love, I dress vintage because its a passion, but Im very shy and don't always like attention.  Anyway the hat is crazy fabulous.  It reminds me of this knit turban worn by a  young Lucille Ball:

It also reminds me of this clip from Sesame Street (yes, I'll be 38 in a week and I still like Sesame Street.)

I  remember seeing this as a little girl and loving it, a sign that I was destined to grow up to be a crazy hat lady.  I definitely don't plan on wearing my hat to the movies, but I am putting together a casual 1940s outfit to wear with it.  Something with denim and gingham.    Best wishes to all!

Tasty Tuesday-Casserole Comfort

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“Some foods are so comforting, so nourishing of body and soul, that to eat them is to be home again after a long journey. To eat such a meal is to remember that, though the world is full of knives and storms, the body is built for kindness. The angels, who know no hunger, have never been as satisfied.”
― Eli Brown, Cinnamon and Gunpowder

 

 

 

We all know that at times of sadness certain food, comfort food, can have such a way of soothing the soul.  The weekend after Norbert's passing I traveled into comfort food country, a favorite place of mine, and made Hash Brown Casserole using a recipe from the book At My Grandmother's Table by Faye Porter.  

Now I absolutely LOVE this cookbook because not only does it have great recipes for the sorts of traditional, nostalgic, vintage foods not usually found in modern cookbooks, it also has stories about the Grandmother's.  Each recipe begins with a brief story about the Grandmother who originally made it,. Its a southern cookbook so there is plenty of fat, sugar, and salt, and it is not a snobby cookbook.....many of the "salad" recipes contain more sour cream and cool whip then fruit, but it still is a delight to read and to cook from.   The Hash Brown Casserole is my favorite thing I've made so far, the Grandmother who developed it Evelyn Barber was supposedly a fanatic about her hair, visiting the beauty salon twice a week and being teased by her family for keeping in Aqua Net in business.  Apparently Grandma Barber took all teasing in stride and had a great sense of humor, she was certainly a great cook.  I made a few changes to the recipe: substituting butter for margarine and adding Poblano chilies.

Hash Brown Casserole

2 lbs Frozen Hash Browns, I like Cascadian Farms but any will do
16 ounces sour cream
8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 stick butter,
1 to 2 Poblano chilies, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a very large bowl stir together the Hash Browns, sour cream, cheddar, chicken soup, and melted butter.   Stir in the onion and Poblano  and then mix in the salt and pepper.  Spray a large casserole pan with non stick spray and spoon in the casserole mixture.   Bake for 40 minutes until bubbly and brown.   You can also make it the night before, refrigerate, and bake it in the morning for about an hour.    (It smells wonderful which will make any pugs in the vicinity come running). 

Speaking of breakfast and in honor of my beloved Norbert, here is a link to one of my favorite stories about him: It concerns the time my foodie mutt turned his nose up at a Bisquick pancake despite loving the authentic home made version (link)

Tasty Tuesday-A Retro Fruitcake from the 1961 New York Times Cookbook

A few months ago I was super excited to come across the 1961 New York Times cookbook at the local salvation army.  

 Not only did if feature tons of gorgeous mid-century menu photos:

Plenty of the recipes did look delicious and since the holidays were coming and a co-worker has recently gifted me a bottle of Dominican rum I settled on trying the Nova Scotia black fruit cake.   I halved the recipe below and I bought all of the dried and candied fruits on amazon.

Nova Scotia Black Fruit Cake 

1 lb candied pineapple, diced 1 lb golden raisins  1 lb seeded raisins  1 lb candied cherries, halved 4 oz candied citron, coarsely chopped 4 oz currants 2 oz candied lemon peel, coarsely chopped 2 oz candied orange peel, coarsely chopped  1/2 cup dark rum, cognac or sherry 4 oz almonds, blanched and shredded 4 oz walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped 2 cups flour  1/2  tsp mace  1/2 tsp cinnamon    1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp milk 1 tsp almond extract   1/2 cup butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar, packed 5 eggs  Mix fruits. Add rum, cover and let stand overnight. Preheat oven to 275 F. Grease one 10-inch tube pan or two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Line with wax paper and grease the paper. Combine fruits, nuts and 1/2 cup flour. Sift together remaining flour, mace, cinnamon and baing powder. Mix milk with almond extract. Cream butter until smooth, adding sugars gradually. Add eggs, mix well and add the mik mixture. Add flour mixture; mix well. Pour batter over the fruits and nuts and mix thoroughly. Fill pans and press batter down firmly. Bake tube cake about 4 hours, loaves about 3 hours. Let cakes stand 30 minutes. Turn out onto a rack and peel off the paper. Wrap cooled cakes in cheesecloth soaked in the rum. Place in a crock or deep kettle and cover tightly. As the cloth dries, dribble a little of the same liquor over it. Let ripen 1 month. The cookbook also contains directions for two fancy holiday frostings which I skipped in favor of a plain, unvarnished fruit cake. Sadly, I think my cake got a little overly blackened at the edges but I tasted a bit and it was exactly what a fruit cake should be: very rummy, and fruity and sweet with a spicy bite.   A lovely taste of Christmas past.

Sauebrauten A Classic Recipe-Perfect and Easy for October

I have a big weakness for Holliday themed and seasonal recipes.  I love making pumpkin for Halloween, turkey for thanksgiving, latkes for Channukah , roast for Christmas, corned beef for St. Patrick's day and so on.  There are just certain foods I have to have at certain times of the year.   October is no different,  in October I'm thinking pumpkins of course,

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but also Oktoberfest.

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I already have the perfect pumpkin recipe, Dorie Greenspan's pumpkin stuffed with everything good, but I was lacking an Oktoberfest appropriate recipe.   Of course it had to be German and preferably old fashioned.  I settled on Sauerbrauten, German Pot Roast, because there is nothing more reminiscent of a mid century family meal then a big delicious pot roast:

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During the coarse of my searching for an appropriate recipe I discovered that German's would never actually eat Sauerbrauten during Oktoberfest it being more of a sausage time.  However, I decided not to be dissuaded and to forge ahead with my own traditions.

October the perfect time for Sauerbrauten, image source

I choose Alton Brown's recipe as featured on kitchn.  Now Sauerbrauten takes some time to make, three days in all, but in all that time you barely have to do more then stir, this is a seriously easy recipe. 


Sauerbraten
2 cups water
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped, or 2 to 3 small
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, additional for seasoning meat
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
12 juniper berries
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) bottom round
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
18 dark old-fashioned gingersnaps crumbled
a few handfuls golden raisins

You start by making a vinegar marinade.  To do this you combining the water, vinegars, onion, carrot, salt, pepper, and spices in a large pot which you bring to a boil and then simmer for ten minutes.  Set aside the marinade to cool while you season your meat with salt and pepper and brown I on all sides in a skillet coat with the vegetable oil.  It should take about five minutes per side.  Next add the meat to the vinegar marinade.  Cover the pot and store it in the refrigerator for three days.  During this time you will turn the roast once a day.

On the third day remove the pot from the fridge

 and preheat the oven to 325 Sprinkle the sugar over the meat and roast the meat in the pot for 4 hours until very tender.  Remove from the oven and transfer the meat to a platter.  Strain the vegetables and spices from the sauce in the pot and bring it to a simmer on the stove top.  Mix in the crumbled ginger snaps and stir well.  Just before serving stir in the raisins and pour the sauce over the meat.  Delicious!  This recipe is definitely going into my seasonal rotation, and I'm also sure I'll be making it after October is a distant memory.

Serve with ricotta spaetzle,  make sure to double the recipe,  German red cabbage, and of course plenty of Oktoberfest beer!


Note: Not pictured in the above photo is the dogs who where going crazy begging for a taste!

 

Are You Perhaps Affiliated With The Girl Scouts?

 

My vintage blogging friend the lovely and brilliant Jessica of Chronically Vintage has addressed the subject of the sometimes odd comments that vintage lovers get in this post and this video .

Living in the NYC area where it takes quite a bit to raise eyebrows means my vintage look generally flies under the radar, which I prefer because I'm actually pretty shy.   However,  you can't wear nearly full on vintage everyday as I  have had the last two years without attracting some sidelong glances and comments.  Most people are very complimentary and sweet.  I most often get told I look or good or get asked where I get my clothes.   However, one slightly odd comment I have gotten a few times is: "Are you a girl scout?" Or as one rather proper lady put it "are you perhaps affiliated with the girl scouts?"  Now since I do own a green 1940s Jitterbuggin' jumper I can see the connection:

 

However, several times when I have gotten the comment I haven't been wearing the jumper!, but just my ordinary vintage gear.  So why do people keep thinking I'm an over the hill girl scout?  Its a bit of a mystery but I have decided to take it as a compliment, because frankly girl scouts are super cool.  They have a long and storied history as feminist pioneers, everyone loves the cookies, and the uniforms and badges really are quite fab. 





 

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Plus Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the girl scouts, was one amazing lady



 

 

with an unshakeable faith in the great things girls could do when given the right opportunities. 

 So while I haven't been officially affiliated with the Girl Scouts since a brief period in elementary  school nearly 30 years ago.  I've decided to take the question as a compliment and even emphasize the comparison.  Now when I wear my Jitterbuggin' jumper I accessorize it with some of my vintage pins, my version of the badges

and I quite like the look.

The whole thing has gotten me thinking Girl Scouts, and of course craving Girl Scout cookies,

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 which is why when I purchased the kindle version of the book First Prize Pies 

and saw the recipe for a pie inspired by the famous Samoa cookies

I set out to make it immediately.   I knew the pie would be delicious because I have sampled Allison Kave's pies at Smorgasburg and they are amazing.  I can't wait to the brick and mortar shop version opens.

The pie more then lived up to my expectations, as did the entire book, Allison Kave's directions are simple and straight forward and can turn even a novice pie baker into a pro.  The Samoa pie was very little effort and yielded what was by far the best pie I have ever tasted. 


Samoa Pie

 

Short Bread crust

1 ½ cups short bread cookies 15 to 20

2 to 4 tbsp butter

Filling

2 cups sugar

¼ cup corn syrup

1 stick unsalted butter

1 14 0z can full fat coconut milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

1 cup toasted coconut

Topping

¼ cup toasted shredded coconut

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

¼ cup heavy cream

Make the curst

Grind the cookies in the processor and transfer to a large bowl and add the melted butter, a little at a time, and mix  (hands are best for this until the texture is that of wet sand.) Try not to add all the butter.  Press into a pie pan.  Chill in freezer or fridge while preheating oven to 350 bake 10 min until golden and then cool.

Filling

In heavy pan stir together ¼ cup water the sugar and corn syrup until sugar is mostly disolved.  Cook over med high heat moving the pan around occasionally until the caramel has turned a dark amber and reached 360 on a candy thermometer.  Keep a close eye as it can burn quickly. 

Remove caramel from heat and immediately start to whisk in the butter, be very careful.  Open the can of coconut milk and spoon of the thick cream and discard the water.  Whisk the coconut cream into the caramel until fully dissolved and then add the salt and vanilla. Stir in the toasted coconut and pour into prebaked pie shell.  Refrigerate pie uncovered for one hour and then sprinkle over the toasted shredded coconut.

Topping

Heat cream to scalded and pour it over the chocolate.  Whisk until glossy drizzle the ganache over the pie.  Refrigerate again uncovered, 4 hours or overnight.

I can't recommend First Prize Pies strongly its a fun read with delicious recipes and clear instructions and I can't wait to work my way through the remaining recipes.  As for vintage fashion and the Girl Scouts, green is my favorite color.

The Jazz Age Lawn Party and an Outfit Post

 Since my favorite style decades are the 1920s and 30s the Jazz Age Lawn Party held on Governor's Island each summer is right up my alley.  I wrote about the event last year in this post and I look forward to going each summer.  Like last year I had Kim at Time Machine Vintage make me a dress.  I love 1920s fashions, but actual twenties dresses are just too delicate and too expensive so I knew repro was the way to go.  I knew I wanted a 1920s day dress, lots of people at the event were evening clothes but I can't see myself in a cocktail dress at a lawn party.  I also knew I wanted an early twenties style dress.  The original pattern I was interested in was already earmarked for another purchaser so with help from Kim I decided on another pattern:

and Kim made this AMAZING dress:

She added actual vintage trims and I really think you can't tell its not authentic twenties attire:

I wore it with a flower crown made by Etsy Seller Chatter Blossom

 

 

It is inspired by a crown worn by silent film star Louise Brooks:

 I also wore my 1930s sunglasses from Adelines Attic and carried my favorite thrifted 1930s crochet purse.  My shoes were from mod cloth:

Since repair work is being done on the Path Train in NJ it took us awhile to get to Governor's Island and by the time we arrived it was already packed.  The line stretched on and on first at the boat:

and  then on the Island:






When we finally reached our destination it was really lovely:

 

There were lots of vintage vendors with some beautiful wares.  However, I had already decided to not buy anything and to ward off temptation I brought very little cash.  With the crowds it was unfortunately very hard to get good pictures of the merchandise:

 

 

In addition to the vendors and the music from the Dreamland Orchestra, the event has plenty of food and cocktails. It is cohosted by St. Germaine liquor

 

 

 

and they had special cocktails they designed just for the party.  I had a delicious flapper fizz:

 

 

They also gave out cards with a recipe for St. Germain Sangria:

 

 Sangria Flora

1 bottle dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or Pinot Grigio recommended)

1 cup of St. Germain liquor

6 strawberries (cut in half) , 12 white grapes (cut in half), 2 peaches (chopped), 12 raspberries

Ice

 

Combine the wine and St. Germain in a large pitcher and Stir in the fruit.  Let sit 30-45 min.  Serve in cups or glasses with ice.  This amount serves 5.

 

 

 

 



Of course my favorite thing about the party is the fashion, and there was lots of it.  Not everyone dressed up of course, my husband wore shorts and a t-shirt, but most people did.   Plenty of people were in evening or cocktail dress that was inspired by twenties style.  Everyone, looks great but my favorite looks where the day inspired ones.  it was hard to get really good pictures of the styles because this event was packed, but I did photograph this incredible long gown on the lady who apparently owns New York's most glamorous picnic set:

 

 

I also spotted the madcap fashion journalist Lyn Yaegger with her incredible china doll bob.

 

In the end we actually didn't stay at the party very long, just two hours, because we wanted to get home to the dogs, but we had a lovely trip back in time while we were there: