I made this recipe to go with the Kathy Wielech Patterson interview but then I got too rambly and it seemed like too much for one post.
So here it is. This is one of several recipes in “Maryland’s Chesapeake” that were contributed by local chefs. This one comes care of Adam Snyder of Brewhouse No. 16 in Mount Vernon, Baltimore.
Oyster pie is an ideal dish for an “upscale pub” in an old firehouse. Much like oyster stew, oyster pie is ubiquitous in old Maryland cookbooks, starting with the very first cookbook published by a Maryland author – Elizabeth Ellicott Lea. She offers up not one but three oyster pie variations.
A Rich Oyster Pie, Elizabeth Ellicott Lea, 1845
As I started to cut the pastry I realized that I was making a very large quantity, so I baked this pie in my 15″ skillet, setting a new personal record for pie diameter. It’s not pretty – you have to work fast with a hot filling and pastry crust. You can also make this pie in a deep casserole dish and have more cookies later (see below recipe.)
Sadly I did not have three cups of oyster liquor sitting around and had to substitute stock. Nonetheless, this recipe made a wonderful meal for a cold January night. Several nights, actually.
Recipe:
Crust:
2.5 Cups flour
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon sugar
8 oz cold, unsalted butter
Filling:
.5 Lb bacon
2 oz butter
2 Cup celery
2 Cup parsnip
2 Cups diced yellow onion
.75 Cup flour
.5 Cup white wine
3 Cups oyster liquor or stock
4 Cup diced potato
2 Tablespoon whole grain mustard, prepared
1 Cup heavy cream
1 Pint shucked oysters
2 Tablespoons minces parsley
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1 egg
To make crust: Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With machine running, slowly add ¼ to ½ cup cold water until dough comes together and forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and flatten it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least an hour before using.
To make filling: In a large pot over medium heat render bacon in butter until crispy. Add celery, parsnips, and onions and cook until vegetables soften and sweat, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir well to create a roux. Cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir, scraping up any bits of vegetable clinging to the pan. Add the oyster liquor and potatoes. Cook until liquid thickens, then stir in the mustard and heavy cream. Add the oysters, turn the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in parsley, add salt and pepper. Remove mixture from the heat, and allow to cool.
To assemble pie: Preheat oven to 325°F. Scoop pie filling into a 4-quart oven-safe dish or casserole. Roll pastry out to 1/8 inch thickness and drape over pie filling. Crimp edges decoratively. Beat egg with two tablespoons of water and brush it over the crust. [I forgot to do this – K] Cut slits into the top to allow steam to vent. Bake for 30 minutes, until pastry is golden brown and filling is hot. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.
[Note from Kara: cut the extra crust into shapes, roll in cinnamon sugar and bake for 10-15 minutes in the oven with the pie.]
Maryland having a bit of an upswing of interest in reflection on our local cuisine. If my cookbook collection is any indication, this tends to come in waves. At the turn of the 20th century, there was a general sentiment that Maryland food was high quality, and cookbooks banked on this reputation. Then came the wave of gas company and community cookbooks full of recipes that attempted to update the classics for modern cooking technology and budgets. The last wave was in the 90s, when, for whatever reason, an increased interest in ‘crab culture’ brought on a new series of Maryland seafood cookbooks.
This time around, people are turning a critical eye towards their own consumption and our relationship with the environment, and some of the human cost of harvesting and preparing the literal and figurative fruits of the region.
When I saw this new book, “Maryland’s Chesapeake: How the Bay and Its Bounty Shaped a Cuisine” by Kathy Wielech Patterson and Neal Patterson, I knew I had to get a copy but I wasn’t sure what to expect. More opinions on how to fry a soft-shell? Oyster wars recap? That same recipe for Smith Island cake?
The Pattersons have built a reputation on documenting highlights of Baltimore’s dining scene in local media, on their blog and in a number of books. “Baltimore Chef’s Table” is in itself a historical document, the kind of book that will preserve a moment in time for another generation of curious cooks. “Food Lovers’ Guide to Baltimore” is more of a compendium of information on restaurants, shops, and farmers’ markets, with some recipes thrown in for good measure.
In addition to enthusiasm about the growing number of dining options around the city, they also share an appreciation for the history and also the present and future systems that keep Baltimore’s culinary scene going. And that is what “Maryland’s Chesapeake” is about.
The Dundalk Eagle describes “Maryland’s Chesapeake” as “part history, part science book and part cookbook.” The book begins with a rough history for the uninitiated, but continues on with background about things like our tragic past of tobacco-farming and slavery, the decline and fall of Maryland’s strawberry industry, and the invasion of the Snakehead fish. Some of Jay Fleming’s beautiful photography is scattered throughout for good measure.
Jay Fleming
And there are of course recipes – not just for Smith Island Cake and pan-fried chicken but also some adventurous updates. Baltimore pastry chef Bettina Perry creates a new spin on the state cake; soft crab is given a chili-lime butter treatment care of Chef Mike Random of the B & O Brasserie.
“Maryland’s Chesapeake” may not be quite a cookbook, but it is an ideal book for those of us who read them.
How did you go about selecting which chefs to feature – and get them to share their recipes?
Our second book, Baltimore Chef’s Table, included recipes from 50+ local chefs, so we had made a lot of friends prior to starting Maryland’s Chesapeake and knew who would be the best collaborators. As soon as we knew we were going to write this book, I emailed Chad Wells and told him about it. I knew he’d be the best person to talk to about invasive species and fishing in general. It also helped that he was at Alewife at the time, located just two blocks from where I work at UMB, so I could pop down there at lunchtime and chat with him in person. Annmarie Langton from Gypsy Queen was also pulled into the project pretty early, as was Winston Blick from Clementine. Other chefs became involved when we realized they cooked amazing dishes using the requisite ingredients. For example, after we tasted certain of Zack Mills’ dishes at Wit & Wisdom, we knew we had to have them. And he’s such a great guy, he even let us use his photos. We needed a pastry chef to work on a modernized Smith Island cake and Bettina Perry was so willing and did an amazing job. Then there’s Scott Hines, who recently became the Executive Chef at B&O American Brasserie (such a well-deserved promotion and he’s doing some amazing stuff there). I needed four more recipes for various things and hoped he could give me one or two. He tackled them all. We’re pretty happy with the recipes in the book.
Smoked Oysters with Old Bay Seasoning Butter, Chef Zack Mills (Wit & Wisdom)
As someone who is an experienced cook who also is out on the dining scene frequently, can you talk about what the appeal is to go out when you can cook great meals at home (besides no dishes!)
No dishes is definitely a perk to going out to eat! But even though Neal and I are both pretty good cooks, and I’m always fiddling with new recipe ideas, sometimes it’s just nice not to have to think about it. Everybody likes to have someone else take care of them, even if it’s just for a couple of hours. And Baltimore’s restaurant scene has grown by leaps and bounds recently. A dozen years ago I wouldn’t have imagined places like Ekiben and R House and the re-imagined Belvedere Square Market with its smoked fish and ramen joints. Baltimore has always been a couple of years behind when it comes to food trends, but now it seems we’ve caught up. And so much of it is stuff we can’t make at home as easily, like good pizza or sushi or arepas. I mean, we *could* make them, but someone else is going to do those so much better, so why even try?
One of the most interesting discoveries for me was the Stream ReLeaf project for reforesting the banks of Chesapeake tributaries with Black Walnut trees- how did you come across that?
Google! Sometimes doing research on one topic leads down a rabbit hole of amazing discoveries. We found out a lot of information that way. The Internet is a great resource.
Another strong message in the book is the incorporation of invasive species into our food culture – things like snakehead fish. Was that an aspect of Maryland food you were already pretty familiar with or did you learn about it as a part of book research?
As I mentioned before, we were already friends with Chad Wells, who is a sworn enemy of invasive species, particularly snakehead and blue catfish. He had orchestrated an all-snakehead dinner at Alewife a few years ago and though Neal and I didn’t attend, we had heard all about it. He suggested we attend the Potomac Snakehead Tournament last year, which gave us a closer look at the uglies. It was astonishing how many pounds were caught in a relatively small stretch of the river and really drove home the fact that there were more and more of them out there, constantly multiplying. If we don’t eat them into local extinction, our native species don’t stand much of a chance.
Was there anything that *you* learned that was surprising to you?
Crab aquaculture was the big surprise for us. We knew about farmed fish and oysters, which seemed almost easy. But crabs are travelers, moving up and down the vast length of the Bay to live and spawn. They way Dr Zohar and his team worked out how to fool the crabs into thinking they were traveling was pretty damn ingenious.
Jay Fleming
Your research included everything from Miss M.L. Tyson to John Shields – do you have a personal favorite Maryland cookbook?
Personally, I don’t have any favorite cookbooks. We own tons of them, but I mostly use them for inspiration. I read them from cover to cover, absorbing ideas and techniques, and then I cook. Rarely do I follow a recipe to the letter, and then only because it’s science-y, like baking. Once I understand how to make something, I can make it without using a reference, and I think this is the way most people used to cook. If you look at some of those old cookbooks, there are recipes that have a list of ingredients but the method is very vague. Home cooks then already knew what to do, because they cooked every day from scratch. Now we have convenience food and microwaves and so many restaurants and we’ve lost (or never developed) a cooking “muscle memory.” So while I can go into the kitchen and rustle up a crab soup off the top of my head, for this book we needed some classic tried-and-true recipes. And like everything else in the book, that required research, which required acquiring cookbooks. And when one cookbook didn’t seem definitive enough, we had to buy another, and another.
Do you have a favorite place to get Maryland tomatoes?
My favorite place for Maryland tomatoes is our backyard. We have been growing 6-8 varieties of heirloom tomatoes for the past few years. It’s great to walk outside and pick what we need. We live just outside the city, and apart from the various farmers’ markets, there’s no real source for good tomatoes in the area. We used to be able to get decent ones from the Arabbers carts when I lived in Fells Point in the 70s, but they probably get theirs from Sysco now.
What are the main ‘takeaways’ that you hope that the book adds to the ongoing (beginningless, endless) Chesapeake food conversation?
I would hope that readers would understand that we’re all in this together. That the problems the Bay is facing aren’t just abstractions, and that we can’t just go on blithely eating crabs forever and not worry about it. Seemingly small things, like not putting chemicals on their lawns and picking up after their dogs, are helpful. Making donations to organizations like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Oyster Recovery Partnership so they can further their great work is also a valuable way to participate in helping the Bay recover.
This unusual casserole is one of the less notable recipes from Mrs. J. Millard Tawes’ “Favorite Maryland Recipes.” I love her little book for easy weeknight dinners but this recipe may have confirmed my suspicion that her book contains a lot of filler between the classics.
It’s fitting then for me to post it today because it is essentially filler on my own site. I have some great interviews and research-heavy posts coming up but it’s just not happening this week.
I thought I might write some fun facts about American Cheese but you can just head on over to Wikipedia for that.
In conclusion, try this recipe if you looooove black walnuts and have a lot to spare, but don’t try to swap this one out for the Thanksgiving mainstay or your family will disown you.
Recipe:
4 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoon flour
1 bay leaf
2 Cups chicken stock
3 Cups cooked string beans
.25 Lb American cheese
.25 Cup chopped black walnuts
If using fresh green beans, trim, halve and blanch or steam them until cooked but crisp. Brown butter in sauce pan over low heat with bay leaf. Add flour and stir until blended. Gradually add stock. Cook until smooth and thickened. Fold in cheese and stir until melted. Arrange beans in casserole dish. Pour the sauce over the beans and top with walnuts. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°
Recipe adapted from “My Favorite Maryland Recipes”
“The root cellar, when properly made, will always be found one of the best paying out-buildings upon the farm.” – The Baltimore Sun, 1861
It was unpleasantly cold this past week. The warmth of family members crammed into small spaces cooking and eating comforting meals is a quickly fading memory. It’s been replaced by drafts, piles of blankets, and cold lunches at work.
Luckily I had some White Haymans down in the fridge. I bought them around Thanksgiving and never got around to using them. They’ve been patiently standing by as a rotating cast of collards, lettuce and beans have come and gone from the crisper. Sweet potatoes, even haphazardly stored as mine were, will hold up a pretty long time. As discussed here before, that makes them pretty important.
If you need something a little more long-term, you can join the ranks of people who use a root-cellar. According to the New York Times, at least as of 2008, this 40,000-year-old storage method is/was making a comeback.
Most 19th century cook-books make at least some mention of cellar use. “Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen” and “Queen of the Kitchen” do not offer explicit cellar guidelines, but do make many references to storing various preserved items, and wines, in the root cellar.
Unsurprisingly, the thrifty and practical Elizabeth Ellicott Lea has the most to offer on this front.
“Beets, parsnips, carrots and salsify should be dug up before the frost
is severe; those wanted for use in the winter should be put in barrels,
and covered with sand; what you do not want till spring should be buried
in the garden, with sods on the top. Celery may be dug in November, and
set in a large box covered with sand, in the cellar, with the roots
down; it will keep till the frost is out of the ground. Or it may be
left in the ground all winter, and dug as you want it for use.” – Domestic Cookery, Elizabeth Ellicott Lea
She also offers up advice for storing eggs in grease or lime water. During the summer she recommends using the root cellar for meat and other items that might spoil in the heat.
Roulette Farm, Root Cellar, Sharpsburg, Washington County. loc.gov
There is some science to the storage. According to the New York times, apples can’t be stored near carrots because the gas they give off will make the carrots bitter.
Lea laid out a lot of rules for the spring cleaning of cellars – emptying out unused vegetables, sprinkling lime over the floors, washing and draining storage barrels.
She also offers cautionary tales of people being killed by rat poison that was used too close to stored food.
“The eastern halves of America and Canada contain thousands of old root cellars, and the small Newfoundland town of Elliston actually claims the title of “Root Cellar Capital of the World,” and boasts of over 135 root cellars, some dating back 200 years.” – Rick Gush, Hobby Farms
Although the Maryland Historical Trust documents on Lea’s former homes do not mention surviving root cellars, there are many historic sites with a root cellar, and at least one historic site that IS a root cellar. The Spring Grove Hospital root cellar in Baltimore County was built in 1930 as a part of the hospital’s farm program. Like many old cellars, it has been repurposed for storage.
This candied sweet potato recipe was contributed to “Eat, Drink & Be Merry in Maryland” by a Mrs. E.W. Humphreys of Wicomico County. Born Mary Josephine Tarr, she married Eugene Humphreys, a doctor from a prominent Salisbury family, in 1869. The family resided in downtown Salisbury in a Greek revival home with Eugene’s medical practice operating out of the front of the house.
Towards the rear was a “large cooking fireplace,” and Mrs. Humphrey’s own root cellar was no doubt in one of the two outbuildings adjacent to the kitchen.
Family documents including correspondence, photographs and recipes are kept at Salisbury University.
This recipe might not be the best use for White Haymans. They turned out rather ugly. Even so, with a cup of cocoa they brought a little warmth into a bitter January day when my whole house felt like a dang root cellar.
Recipe:
6 sweet potatoes
salt
.5 Cup water
1 Cup brown sugar
piece of butter the size of an egg
Peel six sweet potatoes and peel cook until nearly done in boiling salted water. Drain, cut in pieces, and put in an oven dish. Combine one-half cup water, one cup brown sugar and lump of butter to make a syrup. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Cover potatoes with the syrup, put back in oven and bake at 350° until done, basting occasionally if necessary.
Recipe adapted from “Eat, Drink & Be Merry in Maryland”
In 1906, The Frederick News printed a whimsical explanation for the ‘bakers dozen.’ A Dutch baker in the 1600’s bickered with an “ugly hag” over whether a dozen was twelve or thirteen, stingily sending the woman away with only twelve New Year’s cakes. His shop became cursed until the baker conceded that a dozen was thirteen.
The New Year’s Cakes (cookies were often known as cakes or “little cakes”) mentioned in this story would most likely be cookies bearing close relation to Speculaas, a spiced biscuit made around St. Nicholas Day in early December in the Netherlands and Belgium, and around Christmas in Germany.
Another similar but thicker molded biscuit, the German “Springerle”, are flavored with anise and also made around the Christmas holidays. These types of cookies bear close relation to gingerbread, which was never related to bread at all. Much like the confused etymology of scrapple, the word gingerbread originally came from the word ’gingerbrar’, simply referring to the preserved ginger used to spice these kinds of cookies.
The Montrose Democrat, PA, January 4th 1912
Caraway seed cakes had long been a customary food to commemorate the harvest in Europe. Harvest customs naturally drifted and morphed into Christmas celebrations, which in turn stretched into “New Years.”
Dutch New Years cakes were popular throughout the northeast united states but were most commonly associated with New York. Although the cookies appear in bestselling cookbook author Eliza Leslie’s 1828 book as “apees cakes”, her 1851 book “Directions for Cookery” refers to the same recipe as “New York Cakes,” noting that they are also known as “New Year Cakes.”
According to historian William Woys Weaver in “A Quaker Woman’s Cookbook,” Leslie’s recipe traces to the cooking school of Elizabeth Goodfellow in Philadelphia. Earlier versions appear as far back as the first American cookbook published by Amelia Simmons in 1796.
Eliza Leslie’s many books were wildly popular and influential (and in fact her own parents were from Cecil County), but Weaver drew a closer connection between Maryland-born Goodfellow, whose husband was a Quaker clockmaker, and Quaker cookbook author Elizabeth Ellicott Lea. “Lea’s contact with Goodfellow may have been indirect, but it is clear that many of Lea’s friends and acquaintances had attended the cooking school,” resulting in many versions of Goodfellow recipes making their way into Lea’s book.
“For rural Quakers, [these cookies were] a special treat for Children at New Year’s… related to New Year’s cookies that were associated with the Dutch settlers in Colonial New York. Those cookies were often shaped with elaborate carved molds. The leavening in them was potash or pearl ash.” – William Woys Weaver, “A Quaker Woman’s Cookbook”
I actually first noticed this recipe in a handwritten manuscript at the Maryland Historical Society; a personal cook-book belonging to Becky Amos, wife of a Baltimore bricklayer. That recipe, it turned out, was copied verbatim from Lea’s. That’s how these things work sometimes.
Mrs. B.C. Howard also published a nearly identical recipe in her 1873 book. Being the high-roller that she was, there is a little more butter, and a pinch of salt added. She also called for ‘soda’ instead of saleratus.
I did have a New Years brunch and these cookies proved popular with adult humans, babies, and dogs.
Recipe:
2 c flour
1 c sugar
8oz butter, softened
½ tsp baking soda dissolved in…
.25 to .5 pint milk
.25 tsp salt
caraway seeds, or crushed coriander seeds, grated lemon peel, nutmeg, etc. to taste
Preheat oven to 400°. Cream together butter and sugar. Gradually blend in flour (mixed with salt) until dough resembles pebbles. GRADUALLY add milk until all ingredients are moistened and dough forms a solid ball that is no longer sticky to touch. You may not need all of the milk! I used too much then had to add a ton of flour. I blame Mrs. B.C. Howard for that one. One 1890s recipe uses only 3tb of milk.
Roll thin and cut into shapes. If desired, stamp with designs or use a patterned rolling pin. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on bottoms.
