Fluffy Fruit Dressing, AKA Women's Club Fruit Dressing (1940s)

In the two previous posts I wrote about Genevieve Callahan's The California Cook Book for Indoor and Outdoor Eating.  Click here to see the post with the dressing in it.

Found on archive.org.  An amazing source!

She mentioned a "Fluffy Fruit Dressing" several times but does not have a recipe specifically named that.  One clue she left was that it was in the dressing section, so after reading all the recipes carefully, I concluded that what she really meant was the "Women's Club Fruit Dressing." (Pages 38-39) It is a cooked, flavored dressing that is blended with whipped cream just before serving, thus "fluffy".  

To be fair, it could also be the recipe above it, "Old Fashioned Cooked Dressing" because it, too, is mixed with whipped cream when used with fruit salads.  But its main flavors are vinegar, mustard, and celery seed whereas the Women's Club dressing's flavors were mainly currant and lemon.

This seemed just right to go with the persimmon and pineapple salad.  And, as you saw in the previous post, it was!

My Notes

I could not find currant jelly at the store, but I did buy a jar of currant preserves -- currants in a sweetened syrup.  So I drained the syrup off the fruit by pressing it through a sieve and used 1/2 cup of the syrup.  I did not need to melt it because it was already liquid.

I think it is better to beat the egg whites with the salt and sugar before cooking the lemon, sugar, and yolks mixture.  That way you don't overcook the mixture while beating the whites and it is still hot when the whites are mixed in.

The yolk mixture never got thick while cooking, but it did thicken, so I call that a win.  After it chilled, it was thick.  

I used 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream that was, after beating, mixed with most of the cooked dressing.

The cooked dressing ingredients

With the currant syrup.

Folding in the egg whites.

              

Cooking is done.

The finished product.

The Verdict

Yes, this was good.  It was acidic from the lemon, flavorful from the lemon and currant, not too sweet, and the fluffy part was a nice complement to the persimmon and pineapple gelatin salad.

Everyone particularly liked the currant flavor, although most said they never had it before.  It adds a deep fruity flavor that balanced out the other flavors of the dish.

I wonder how it would taste if frozen like ice cream.  I think it would be a good topping on a vanilla cake or angel food cake, too.  Honestly, it was good just eaten off the spoon!

Success!  

Fashionable Ox - a Beef Stew (Pinedo recipe)

I am continuing to try out some of Encarnación Pinedo's stews.  Today's is a beef stew, one that I would consider a "standard" European (really French, I think) style with an interesting historical direction. It is on page 39, and I love the name.

My Translation

My Redaction

2 1/2 pounds of beef

1/4 cup broth, any flavor

1/4 cup white wine

2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce cans)

1/2 pound ham, cubed (about 1/2-inch size)

8 ounces carrots

1/2 cup chives, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon mace

1/4 teaspoon coriander

First cut the beef into cubes, about 1-inch on a side, roughly.  Place in a slow cooker, add the broth and the wine.

Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.

Cut the carrots into bite-sized pieces as needed. 

In a skillet, combine the tomatoes, ham, carrots, chives, and spices.  Bring to a slow simmer.  Cook about 30 minute or until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the drained beef and serve.

Sauce before cooking

Sauce after cooking

Beef after cooking.  Just use the meat and discard the liquid.

My Notes

I had some pork broth in my refrigerator, so I used that with the meat.  

Pinedo specifies "especies finas", "fine spices", and this is the only recipe that calls for that mix.  I interpreted it as a medieval spice blend called "powder fines", which can contain any number of spices, such as pepper, cinnamon, cardamon, coriander, grains of paradise, ginger, nutmeg, and so on.  The basic idea is a savory (vs sweet) mixture even though it uses many spices I consider "sweet", as in "I expect to see them in cookies, cakes, etc."

In making my choices, I knew one of my guest tasters does not like cinnamon, so I avoided that.  Putting in two savory spices (pepper and coriander) and two sweet spices (mace and cardamom) seemed like a good combination without risking making the spice blend too strong and overwhelming the dish.

Notice that she didn't call for salt.  I believe that the ham is a good way to introduce salt into the stew.

I used small carrots, so I didn't cut them.  I wanted the look of the bright orange carrots as part of the stew.  

This was so simple to prepare.  I appreciated that because it was a busy few days and I could easily prepare all in advance.  In fact, after the meat and sauce were done, I cooled and stored them separately in the refrigerator overnight.  The day of the meal I reheated the sauce, added the meat, and let the whole stew slowly warm through on the stove.

There was no need to defat anything before reheating.  Most of that fat had been left behind when I took the meat out of the slow cooker.

The Verdict

I served it with shell macaroni on the side and a tossed green salad.  And wine!

Visually, the stew was appealing with its colors and shapes.

The meat was tender and everyone noticed that.  

The sauce was flavorful and the carrots were tender, too, but not mushy.  I really liked that.

The entire mixture was good with the meats, tomatoes, chives, and carrots all contributing to the taste experience.  I suggested that the spice blend was too strong and was quickly outvoted by the guest tasters.  No one wanted salt on it.

The stew was well-received.  When I had the leftovers the next day, I decided that spice mixture wasn't too strong, but I thought it was close to being so.  If this worries you, I would cut down on the pepper a little.  

Success!

The stew matches the tablecloth...

Another Persimmon Salad from the 1940s

Did I happen to mention that I have a lot of persimmons in my kitchen?  And that I have an interest in exploring what California cuisine meant in the 1940s?

The first recipe I posted using persimmons and relating to California cuisine was a persimmon salad that was so basic:  whole, peeled persimmons embedded in lemon gelatin.  That's it!  It was tasty and light, so it was a success.  You can see the post by clicking here:  Persimmon Salad from the 1940s.

Today's post is from the same book, The California Cook Book for Indoor and Outdoor Eating by Genevieve Callahan.

For Indoor and Outdoor Eating

On pages 42 - 43, she offered another version, this one more elaborate.

Jellied Persimmon Salad

3 large, very ripe persimmons

20 ounce can crushed pineapple

3 ounce box lemon-flavored gelatin

dash salt

"Fluffy fruit dressing"*

Those persimmons are as soft as pudding.

Choose a container to act as a mold for the salad.  It needs to hold at least 4 cups volume.  Lightly spray it with non-stick cooking spray and then wipe out the excess.  

Open can of pineapple, pour into a colander over a bowl so the fruit drains and you save the liquid.

Pull off and discard the tops of the persimmons then use a spoon and your fingers to start peeling.  At a certain point it becomes easier to just scoop the pulp out of the skin.

Put pulp in a bowl and mash thoroughly with a potato masher.  Remove and discard any seeds.

Mix in 1 cup crushed pineapple.  Cover and put in the refrigerator.

Add enough water to the pineapple juice to make 1 1/2 cups.   

Heat in the microwave for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until boiling.  Alternatively, heat on the stove.

Add the gelatin and stir vigorously until it is clear or mostly so.

Put the gelatin in the refrigerator.  Cool until slightly thickened.

Add a dash of salt and fold in the fruit.

Pour into the mold, shake or tap to level it and remove any air bubbles.

Refrigerate until solid.

Serve as suggested by Ms. Callahan.

*Fluffy fruit dressing recipe will be in the next post.

My Notes

I didn't have three large persimmons, so I used 1 large and four small.  They were very ripe, dark orange and squishy to the touch.

My pineapple came in juice, not syrup, but I didn't worry about have less sugar in the dish.  There was precisely 1 cup liquid.

I chilled the gelatin in a glass measuring cup for 1 hour, 45 minutes, which was too long.  It wasn't "slightly thickened," it was thick but not fully set.  I crossed my fingers and proceeded with the recipe anyway.

My main concern was that the gelatin with all the fruit in it would not set up all the way, or at all.  All I could do was hope.

The mold chilled overnight.  When I took the salad out of the mold, I rubbed the mold all over with a hot, damp cloth to loosen the gelatin.

Persimmon pulp, crushed pineapple, and liquid gelatin.

Chilled!

The Verdict

I took it to a friendly barbeque gathering and presented it as a salad.  People were surprised that it wasn't a dessert, but I emphasized that the cookbook author claimed it was a salad and that it wasn't very sweet.

One person was somewhat skeptical about eating it at all, claiming that having grown up in the midwest, his experience with gelatin-based dishes was not very positive.  But he was willing to try it.

I did not serve it on a bed of lettuce, as Ms. Callahan suggested.  I simply tipped the mold out onto a plate and put a big spoonful of the fluffy fruit dressing in the middle.  The rest of the dressing was served on the table so people could choose to add more as they liked.

My first reaction was that it was pretty.  The gelatin was orange from the persimmons.  The visual texture was nice, too, as the crushed pineapple was lighter in color than the persimmon pulp in contrast and the pieces of fruit gave depth to the presentation.  Also, the dressing was a soft pink color, which looked good with the gelatin.

Out of the mold and with the dressing.  Extra dressing in the upper right corner.

As for the taste, I liked it!  Even better than the previous persimmon salad.  It was more complex in flavor, had an interesting texture while chewing, and, as several guests said, "it was balanced."  It was not too sweet and the lemon-persimmon-pineapple flavors worked well together.  The dressing was tart with the flavors of currant and lemon, which is what everyone thought made the entire combination balanced.  Not sweet but sweet-and-tart.  The fluffy dressing contrasted well with the more solid gelatin.

Several people wanted me to mention that they took a second serving, and that was a compliment.  

As for my midwest skeptic?  He tried it and liked it!  He said that the balance of flavors and the way all the parts came together made him realize what the gelatin dishes of his childhood should have been like.  

My only complaint is that the gelatin was too soft.  That could be because the gathering was outside and it was sunny, but it slumped as time went on and the leftovers never firmed up again, even after being refrigerated.  I also wonder if I waited too long to mix in the fruit and salt.  I think that there was enough liquid between the pineapple juice and water and persimmon pulp that it may have needed more gelatin.  A small boost from a packet of unflavored gelatin would have worked, as well as using a larger box of flavored gelatin.

Ms. Callahan notes elsewhere in the book that the pinch of salt gives two advantages:  it helps to set the gelatin and it brings out the flavors in the dish.  I guess it worked because my guest tasters liked it!

Success!

See the next post for the recipe for the "Fluffy Fruit Dressing", which is a recipe called the "Women's Club Fruit Dressing."

 

Empiñada - a Tomato, Pineapple, and Chicken Stew (a Pinedo recipe)

I'm on a roll making stews from the Pinedo's cookbook, El cocinero español.  ("On a roll" - a cooking pun!)

Last month I wrote about a beef and onion stew.  This time I tried a recipe on page 93, Empiñada.  This is not empanadas (a hand pie or dumpling) but a chicken stew with the dominant flavors of tomatoes and pineapple.  Yes, pineapple!

My Translation

My Redaction

1 cup dried bread crumbs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can crushed pineapple with its juice (20 ounce can)

2 cans diced tomatoes with their juice (14.5 ounce cans)

2 teaspoons cinnamon (or 1 tsp and then add more at the end to taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat

Use just two cans of tomatoes and half that amount of chicken

Heat skillet over medium heat.

Add olive oil; swirl it to heat it.  

Add bread crumbs.  Stir constantly until the crumbs are golden brown.

Add pineapple, tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, and salt.  Mix well.

Simmer over low heat while cutting the chicken into chunks.

Mix the sauce and the chicken pieces together in the slow cooker.  

Cook on low for 4 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.  Adjust salt to taste.

Beginning to toast crumbs

Toasted!

The sauce.  Just right.

My Notes

I did this recipe twice.  The first time I completely got the sauce-to-meat ratio wrong!  There was too much meat and the sauce was lost between the pieces.  My redaction above reflects the changes I made from the second time around. 

The point of toasting the bread crumbs - the technique is similar to toasting nuts but with oil to lubricate things - is to create an ingredient that will thicken the sauce.  

I didn't need to add any more water since I used the juices from the pineapple and tomatoes.

The first attempt did not include salt and boy, was it obvious.  I made sure there was salt in the second attempt.

You just have to love the slow cooker for making this recipe easy to cook and the chicken super tender.

For the second attempt, I created the sauce following the above directions then let it simmer for 30 minutes.  Then I added the first batch to it (the full amount was reduced from the three people who taste-tested it, but that wasn't much) and simmered it on low for 20 minutes warm it all the way through.

The Verdict

My guest taster who does not like cinnamon only tried the first version, which contained so little sauce that she couldn't taste it.  Honestly, we all tasted just tender chicken and not much else, so it was a bust.

Not enough sauce.

However the second time around had chunks of meat swimming in sauce.  Perfect!

See how thick it is?

The pineapple and tomatoes were the dominant flavors and they blended well together.  There was a bright acid note along with the sweetness from the fruit.  The spices were there but not competing for attention, although I noticed that I really enjoyed the slight dominance of the cinnamon. As one guest taster said, "They make something go on in the background so it is not just pineapple and tomato."  I agree!

The bread crumbs did their job and the sauce was thick.  I served the stew the first time with the pasta shells and the second time just by itself.  Both worked well.  

Success!  Simple and yet intriguing to have the pineapple and tomatoes working together.  I would probably add a little more cinnamon if I did this again.

A Persimmon Salad from the 1940s

I have lived in California all my life, so it is easy for me to take the abundance we have for granted.  While I have traveled around the United States and in a few other countries, I don't always recognize that the climate we have is different in a wonderful kind of way.  Where I live, we have a mild climate year-round with the opportunity to grow a variety of fruits, nuts, and vegetables.  

That got me wondering, "What exactly IS California cuisine?"  Sure, I can look around me now and see all the current influences, but what fun is that?  I wanted to know what made California cuisine distinct in prior decades.  Then I recalled that there was a big influx of people arriving in the first half of the 20th century, including my ancestors, who arrived in the 1930s and 1940s.

This website, California Migration History 1850-2022, offers clickable tabs on a chart showing the birthplaces of California residents to compare to the total population of the state.  For example, 1900 shows a population of  1.4 million with about 650,000 born in California, about 50%.  1910 and 1920 show about 37% born in CA, 1930 about 34%, 1940 and 1950 about 36%.  In other words, two-thirds of the population weren't born in the state!  During this time the population of California grew to 10.8 million (1950).

I looked for a cookbook that captured the cuisine of that time period, and I found The California Cook Book for Indoor and Outdoor Eating by Genevieve Callahan.  

For Indoor and Outdoor Eating

One aspect that makes California cuisine distinct, she pointed out, is the use of "Strange Fruits in Salads" (page 17).  In particular, in Southern California, subtropical fruits can be grown "as ornamentals."  She noted it is worth watching the local markets to get items such as mangos, papayas, guavas, cherimoyas, feijoas, passionfruits, white sapotas, kumquats, loquats, pomegranates, and persimmons.

It is persimmon season in my area and I have an abundance of them in my kitchen, thanks to a colleague whose trees "produce hundreds" and a local homeowner who sells them from his garage at an excellent price.

Ms. Callahan gave several recipes that use persimmons in salads, some in ways unusual to me.  

However, the first one I tried was so very basic:  lemon-flavored gelatin with whole persimmons embedded in it.  What attracted me to it was that she stated on page 26,

The Mission Inn Hotel and Spa is an iconic Riverside location.  It started as an adobe boarding house in 1876 and then became a full-service hotel in the early 1900s.  By the 1940s and early 1950s, it was a "place to be" because famous people stayed there, such as Albert Einstein, Booker T. Washington, Helen Keller, Clark Gable, and a variety of U. S. presidents.  But it later closed and became rundown and was almost demolished until purchased by the current owners in the 1980s who renovated it.  It has returned to being a beautiful location to stay, dine, and enjoy the spa.

I didn't want a "large ring mold" for two people to consume, but I do have some small gelatin molds that were deep enough to hold a small, peeled persimmon.  I wanted to see the persimmons "glowing" through the gelatin!

Here goes:

3 ounce package lemon-flavored gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1 cup cold water

6 small soft-ish persimmons

6 individual serving gelatin molds

Just add water!

Mix gelatin with the boiling water, stirring until it is dissolved -- the liquid looks clear.

Add the cold water and stir some more.

Pour a thin layer of gelatin into each mold.  Set into the refrigerator to chill until firmly solid (about 10 to 15 minutes).

While they are chilling, cut off the tops and then peel each persimmon.  If you see any seeds, remove those by cutting them out with a knife.  You should have at least one flat side on each persimmon -- note which is the most attractive side.

Remove the molds from the refrigerator.  Put one persimmon into each cup, setting the attractive side down on the gelatin and centering it in the mold.  Using a fork made it easy to control.

Pour the rest of the liquid gelatin into the molds, covering the persimmon with at least a very thin layer (if possible!).

Set molds back into the refrigerator and chill until solid.

To serve, put some very warm water into a shallow bowl.  Dip the molds in one at a time, without getting water onto the gelatin, leaving it very briefly.  Just enough to soften the sides of the gelatin.

Turn the mold over onto a plate to serve.

A thin layer to ensure the persimmon is enclosed.

I peeled extra, just in case.

The fork pokes into the "down" side.

The mold is full and the fruit is almost covered.

My Notes

My molds hold about 1/2 cup liquid each.  Once I added the persimmons, I ended up with 5 completely filled molds and several extra with just the bottom layers.  So let's say to plan for 6 molds.

Putting the molds in a small cake pan made it easy to transfer to/from the refrigerator.

The fork was poked into the non-attractive side of the persimmon, which allowed me to place it carefully on the gelatin and center it.  My fingers stayed out of the way.

It took over an hour for the gelatin in the filled molds to feel solid.  I let them chill much longer before I served them.

The Verdict

It was good!  I mean, for all that it was just lemon gelatin and persimmon, it was a light, refreshing salad.  The persimmon flavor goes well with the lemon, so that was a good pairing.

My guest taster thought it was fine.  Not earth-shattering as a recipe goes, but fine enough.

Did the persimmon glow through the gelatin?  You be the judge:

Pretty!

The persimmon was soft enough that it was easily cut with a knife, and the gelatin was firm enough that it held its shape after cutting.

As for presentation, I would probably serve this on a bed of dark green lettuce or spinach greens if for a salad.  It would also be good as a light dessert, especially if a cookie (thin, crisp) was with it.  

To be honest, I had some for breakfast the next day, which was tasty, too.

Success!

I doubt you will ever find the Mission Inn serving this again.  It was fun to find out that they did.

Estafado español - Spanish Stew, a Pinedo recipe

It is time for another Pinedo recipe!  If you are new to this blog, I'm cooking from Encarnación Pinedo's El cocinero español cookbook, published in 1898.  Her recipes show up on this blog and one dedicated just to her recipes, found here:  The Spanish Cook Without Equal.

Today I am making a stew for dinner, and I chose the one on pages 103 - 104.

My Translation

My Redaction

2 1/2 pounds boneless beef bottom round roast

olive oil for browning the meat

1 pound ham, cubed

1 pound pearl onions, stemmed and peeled

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped after the stems are removed

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 cup red wine (I used cabernet sauvingnon)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

I only used one piece of the beef.  That is what fit in the slow cooker.

Cut beef into eating-sized cubes, about 1 inch by 1 inch or a little smaller.

Heat oil in a skillet.  Add beef in batches, stirring often to get the pieces browned.

Put each batch into a slow cooker.

Add all the other ingredients in the slow cooker.

Mix well.

Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Cool, refrigerate, and remove the solid fat.

Reheat to serve.

My Notes

I cut off a lot of the excess fat on the beef.  There wasn't much and I didn't try to get it all off, just the majority.  Then I cut the meat into cubes of a sort.

Pinedo didn't state to brown the meat, but I suspected that was the purpose.  Otherwise I didn't see a need for adding fat to the pan.  Browning does make for a better flavor and presentation.  Since I had so much meat to brown and you don't want to crowd the pieces in the skillet, I used two skillets at one time.  I didn't measure the oil used -- I just put in enough with each batch so that the meat wasn't sticking to the pan.  

Honestly, the most tedious part of making this dish was trimming and peeling all the tiny onions.  I chose pearl onions because Pinedo had specified whole onions.  That was the only way I could imagine having individual servings without someone getting stuck with a massive onion in their bowl or removing the onions before serving.  It helps to have a bowl to hold the peeled onions and another bowl to hold the trimmed ends and peels, while you work over a cutting board. Although now that I think of it, I've seen old recipes with one whole onion (regular size) that had cloves stuck in it.  If that was her intent, I didn't pick up on it.

Perhaps she did not intend for one entire pound of ham in this stew, but that is what I had so I used it all.  The cubes were smaller than those of the beef.  Notice there is no salt called for; I think adding ham is her way of getting salt into the stew.  (Or she just assumes we will add salt at the end, "to taste.")

She specified wine or vinegar.  I chose to use both because I like the flavor a red wine brings and the brightness an acid adds to a sauce.

A slow cooker is the closest thing we have to cooking slowly over hot coals.  It can really do a good job getting the flavors blended and having the meat turn out tender (without having to tend a fire).  My frustration is usually that I overcook the meat, which is never appealing to me.  So despite the slow cooker books advising to cook beef stews for 8 to 12 hours on low, I chose to go for 5 hours.  At this time, the beef was perfectly tender and not overcooked.  I could probably have stopped it at 4 hours, which is why I listed a range in the redaction.  Maybe my slow cooker cooks hotter than the average one?

The onions because I peeled each and every one!

Browning in small batches.

Everything but the liquids.  Stir to combine.

Cooked. The orange is the ham, though it looks like carrots.

The Verdict

I served the stew with cooked shell macaroni on the side, so people could put the pasta in their bowl and stew on top of or next to it. Pinedo has several recommendations in her book to serve stews with macaroni.

Other dishes in the meal were a sweet potato-apple souffle (see the recipe by clicking here) and a side salad with spring mix, chopped apples and persimmons, pecans, pomegranate arils, and goat cheese.  It was dressed with a pomegranate molasses-based vinaigrette.

The primary comment was "the beef is so tender!" and it was. For a simple stew that was basically beef, ham, and onions, it was tasty!  One guest taster who does not like cinnamon could taste it - it was not off-putting but not her favorite.  Those of us who like cinnamon loved the sauce flavors.  No one spice or herb dominated -- it was a good blend.  

My guest taster who loves beef thought was it very good and had seconds.  

Everyone wished the sauce was thick so it was more like a gravy that would stick to the pasta and meat instead of running to the bottom of the bowl.  

I liked the whole stew and the sauce flavor blend.  The texture was fine.  I think I would rather serve it over mashed potatoes if the sauce wasn't thickened.  When I had the leftovers, I thought I really liked having a lot of broth with the ingredients and no pasta, so it was more of a soupy-stew.  Then I got to taste more of the broth, which was a good thing.

Success!

Worthwhile doing it again as it is so easy to prepare and cook.  Making it in advance is a good idea because reheated stews are always better.