A week ago Sunday, I was prepping
a squash pudding that was then to
be cooked at the hearth of the Israel
Crane House. A good-sized crowd of
folks came to watch, and, in fact,
for quite awhile it was wall to wall
people. HUZZAH! I think everyone
had a fantastic time. I know I did!
And I can’t wait to be there, cooking,
again early next month (December 5 – - come join us!).
As to the squash pudding…I chose it because there is a receipt
in Fanny Pierson Crane’s (Israel’s wife) manuscript cookbook.
And that was the “theme,” if you will, of the day’s hearth activities:
preparing and cooking dishes from Fanny’s receipt book. However,
I’ve never seen her book; at least, not the actual original (although
I hope to at some point). What I have seen, and possess a copy of,
is a published booklet containing modern adaptations of Fanny’s
receipts. And, as frequent readers can attest, I don’t care for such
modern re-writes of historic works. I want to know what the original
is, what Fanny herself (or any other author of such a book) wrote.
Too often, the process is re-arranged and/or ingredients are added
that either weren’t available or “invented” yet or are contrary to the
make-up of the dish as a whole. In my view, it’s difficult enough
to approximate how a dish looked and tasted in centuries past,
so why make it worse by adding, deleting, or otherwise altering
specific components? Plus, as an historian, I want to view, and
to preserve, the bona-fide originals. Including a modern version
is fine, as long as the actual, written-on-a-page-by-the-hand-
of- -, well, of whomever, is there right beside it.
In any case, for my squash pudding, instead of using a modern
version, I followed Amelia Simmons’ receipt from her cookbook,
American Cookery. Which, incidentally, was published in 1796,
the same year that Fanny supposedly began hers:
A Crookneck, or Winter Squash Pudding.
Core, boil and skin a good squash,
and bruize it well; take 6 large apples,
pared, cored, and stewed tender, mix
together; add 6 or 7 spoonfuls of dry
bread or biscuit, rendered fine as meal,
one pint milk or cream, 2 spoons of
rose-water, 2 do. wine, 5 or 6 eggs
beaten and strained, nutmeg, salt
and sugar to your taste, one spoon
flour, beat all smartly together,
bake one hour.
The above is a good receipt for Pompkins,
Potatoes or Yams, adding more moistening
or milk and rose-water, and to the two
latter a few black or Lisbon currants, or
dry whortleberries scattered in, will
make it better.
Now, Israel, Fanny’s husband, owned and operated a mercantile, and
it’s quite possible that he stocked Amelia’s book. So perhaps Fanny
copied her receipt? Or at least, based it on Amelia’s? Of course, I’ll
be better able to determine whether or not she did either, when
I see Fanny’s original manuscript. And believe me, this whole
experience makes me even more eager to study it!
For comparison, here’s the modern version from Fanny Pierson Crane,
Her Receipts 1796, compiled, illustrated, and adapted by Amy Hatrak,
Frances Mills, Elizabeth Shull, and Sally Williams (1974). When I first
saw this, my initial reaction was, “Why is there CHEDDAR CHEESE
in a squash pudding?!” Nevertheless, here it is:
SQUASH PUDDING
2 pounds winter squash
1/2 pound cheddar cheese
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Pare squash, remove seeds, and cut
into small pieces. Boil until tender,
drain well, and put into a deep
baking dish. Add cheese cut
into small pieces; saving a little
to sprinkle on top. Saute the onion
in butter. Mix into squash and cheese,
and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Beat
eggs to blend, add milk, then pour over
the squash. Sprinkle remaining cheese
on top. Dot with fresh bread crumbs
and butter. Grate nutmeg on top. Bake
slowly for 30 minutes or until top is
delicately browned and set. Serve
at once.
_________________________
BTW…I used a buttercup squash
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