Gingerbread Waffles, and a really neat book

This is one of my favorite cookbooks and I was astonished when I realized that I had not put any of its recipes into my blog:  Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine, by Norma Jean and Carole Darden, published in 1978 and then 1994. 

ISBN 0-385-47270-6

Why is this my favorite?  Because of the family stories that are connected to the recipes, because the family itself is inspiring and accomplished, and because of the obvious love the authors have for their family.

For example, when describing their grandfather, they wrote (pages 4 - 6):

Family legend has it that in 1868, at the age of fourteen, Charles Henry Darden walked into Wilson, North Carolina.  He had no money, no relatives, no friends there, and no one knew where he had come from -- he wouldn't say.  Somehow, somewhere in his mysterious fourteen years, he had gained considerable skill as a blacksmith and could make and repair wheels.  These abilities allowed him to eke out a small living and to put together the long wooden toolbox that was to become his trademark as he traveled door to door repairing broken locks and sharpening knives.  In a short time he established a good reputation and at seventeen was able to open a small repair shop at the end of the main street in Wilson.

Charles Darden went on to building his business -- in part to prove to the family of the woman he fell in love with that he was worthy -- and then expanded into other businesses, including a store where he also sold produce he grew, and a funeral parlor.  He set an example for his community, taught his ten children the value of hard work, and encouraged them to get a good education.  In fact, when his adopted town of Wilson built a high school for black students, they named it after him.

Papa Darden was seldom known to travel, yet he attended the graduations, from elementary to graduate school, of every one of his children.  Without a doubt, he must have been the proudest "papa" in the group, for in his lifetime, against many odds, he saw three sons become physicians, two become lawyers, and two become morticians, while two of his daughters became teachers and one a nurse.

Norma Jean and Carole Darden are the daughters of Charles Darden's youngest son, "Bud."  They spent time gathering stories and recipes from both sides of their family, and present them in a way that shows the reader what sort of people these family members are or were.  They have a lot to be proud of.

There are a variety of recipes that I want to try.  I love collard greens in a savory, flavorful broth; I want to try Papa Darden's wines and Aunt Artelia's hush puppies; the hot crab-meat salad looks scrumptious; and the candy recipes are inviting.  What I chose was the Gingerbread Waffles, not only because they look good (I love gingerbread and the spice mixture that is in it) but I was in a Sunday-morning brunch kind of mood.

Gingerbread Waffles (page 301)

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 cup sour milk (see note)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup melted butter

Beat eggs until light.  Add sugar, molasses, and sour milk.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Add to egg mixture and beat together until smooth.  Add butter.  Cook as you would regular waffles.

Yield:  6 to 8 servings

Note:  To make sour milk, add 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar to 1 cup milk

My Notes

I didn't have molasses so I substituted dark Karo syrup.  I think the molasses would make the flavor richer and bolder.  

I made the sour milk first as I know it needs to sit a little while after it is mixed.

The waffle iron started heating as soon as I got out all the ingredients.  It always works best when it has had a chance to heat up well before I ever try baking the first waffle.

The eggs were whisked until they were foamy.

Instead of sifting the dry ingredients, I measured them into a bowl and whisked them until they were well-blended.

It didn't take long to beat the batter until it was smooth.  This picture was taken after the melted butter was added in:

It smelled so good with all the spices!

I brushed a little butter over both sides of the hot waffle iron, then poured the batter onto the center.  Every waffle came out beautifully!  

The Verdict

My guest taster and I tried them without any spreads or toppings.  The spice mixture came through, which is what sells it to me.  We also tried them with a little butter and also with some Lemon Goop, which complimented the ginger flavor well.  All three ways are recommended!

Lemon Goop is a recipe I have tried several times, as given by Dorie Greenspan.  Click here for her recipe.  It is easy to make and you also get a great syrup out of it.  We have used the goop as a spread on breads, and the syrup in a variety of ways, like mixing it with soy sauce and black pepper to make a tasty marinade for salmon.  She also recommends making it into a salad dressing.  The goop is lemony and tart, barely sweet, a little salty.  You might think it is like lemon curd, but it is mostly concentrated lemon and not at all like the curd.

Success!  This recipe made five full waffles, each of which breaks into four small pieces.  What we didn't eat was frozen, and I look forward to another Sunday brunch with it.

You just can't go wrong with fixing waffles, and to add the lovely gingerbread spice mix just makes it even better.  

A Brown and Polson Fruit Pudding

 I was back perusing Mr. Charles Elmé Francatelli's book, A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Class.  I first wrote about it in this recipe:  Sausage Rolls and Queen Victoria.  The book was published in 1861.

Something that caught my attention was recipe #47:  Brown and Polson Pudding.  In the ingredients list he has "six ounces of Brown and Polson's prepared Indian corn", which he later describes as 

a most excellent and economical article of food, equal to arrow-root, and will prove, on trial, to be both substantial and nutritive, and also easy of digestion to the most delicate stomachs.

My first thought was that he was describing corn meal, and I would expect this recipe to be something like a spoonbread.  But that connection to arrowroot made me rethink it.  

A quick surfing around the internet produced this result from  http://letslookagain.com/tag/history-of-brown-polson/:

John Polson Jr (1825 - 1900) discovered a method for manufacturing pure starch from maize, which he called corn flour.  He patented the process in 1854.  It was the first corn flour to be manufactured in Britain.

In fact, the site says Brown and Polson's is still for sale in Britain!  Here is what the vintage container looked like:

At this point I really wanted to try a pudding made from cornflour, but I moved to recipe #48, 

Brown and Polson Fruit Pudding

Prepare the pudding batter as indicated in the foregoing Number, and when you have poured one-half of it into the greased pie dish, strew about two pounds of any kind of fruit upon this, such as gooseberries, currants, plums, cherries, etc., and then pour the remainder of the batter all over the fruit.  Bake the pudding an hour and a quarter.  Peeled apples or pears may be used for the same purpose.

Here is the foregoing Number:

No. 47.  Brown and Polson Pudding

Ingredients, six ounces of Brown and Polson's prepared Indian corn, two quarts of milk, two ounces of sugar, a bit of cinnamon or lemon-peel, a pinch of salt, three eggs.  Mix all the above ingredients (except the eggs) in a saucepan, and stir them on the fire till they come to a boil; then add the eggs beat up; mix thoroughly, pour the batter into a pie-dish greased with butter, and bake the pudding for one hour.

I chose to do a half-recipe.

 My Redaction

1 quart whole milk

3 ounces cornstarch (not Brown and Polson, sadly)

1 ounce sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch salt

2 eggs, well-beaten

24 ounce jar Morello cherries, drained (reserve the liquid)

The milk went into the saucepan, then I weighed out the dry ingredients.  I whisked them together in the bowl and then whisked them into the cold milk.  

The saucepan went onto the stove over medium heat.  I didn't stir it the whole time, but I did stir it often.  As it heated, the mixture became thicker and foamy.  

When it just started boiling, I took it off the heat, and poured in the beaten eggs while whisking.  This thickened the mixture even more, so I quickly poured half into the greased pie-dish.  Then I spooned the cherries over it (they sank) until they were fairly evenly distributed.

At that point I poured and spooned the rest of the batter over the top.  Some of it was very thick and sticking to the bottom of the saucepan, but it didn't scorch.  I used a scraper to get the rest.

It went into a preheated 350 degree F oven.

After one hour, the top was browning nicely but the center was still very jiggly, so I reduced the temperature to 325 degrees F while it cooked another 15 minutes.

It smelled lovely!

While it was baking, I decided to make a sauce from the cherry juice.  There was about 1 cup juice (my estimation) so I put in two big spoonfuls of sugar, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.  That all was whisked well and then placed over medium high heat.  I whisked it constantly until it boiled, then reduced the heat and simmered it (while whisking) for one minute.  It cleared and thickened.  Once that minute was over, I took it off the heat and mixed in a splash of almond extract.  It cooled while the pudding continued to bake.

After baking it for one hour and a quarter, I took the now well-browned pudding out of the oven.  It was still very jiggly but a stick put into the middle came out clean.  I left it to cool.

The Verdict

I tasted the batter right out of the saucepan.  It was good!  Thick, creamy, mild in flavor, slightly sweet.  I could have eaten it as it was, with a spoon.  This made me look back at his recipe #49, Brown and Polson Thick Milk, which is very similar to this batter but without the eggs.  He has you boil it for ten minutes to make a dish that "is most excellent for children's breakfast or supper, and would be found both cheaper and better for their health than a sloppy mess of tea."

As the pudding cooled, the top sank and the center firmed up nicely.  

I tried to serve it by cutting it into wedges, but only the top crust cut; the interior was soft and would not hold a shape.  I ended up serving it with a spoon.  It was still warm when we tried it.

The flavor was mild, slightly sweet, and the cherries were prominent.  My guest taster wondered if there was cheese in it.  I wished for more cinnamon to add some complexity to it.

Overall, it was good.  We both felt it was "a keeper."  

After we tasted it thoroughly as it came out of the pan, we tried it with the cherry sauce I had made.

Oh, my!  That added a lot more flavor and interest to the dish!  It was a hit and my guest taster said, "I think I'm hooked on this."  We ate our fill and enjoyed it very much.

Success!

I tried the leftovers the next day.  This dish chilled had a texture that reminded me strongly of bread pudding.  And it was still tasty!  I'm so glad I made it with cherries.