Sources: “Maryland’s Way”

Note: there is some further important background on this book found in this post.

A lot of my recent recipes have come from “Maryland’s Way”, the Hammond-Harwood House cookbook, and that is because I am having a bit of a rekindled romance with this book.

When I originally started an “Old Line Plate” blog in 2010 this was my main recipe source. In the years since I’ve come across so many great Maryland cookbooks such as “Eat, Drink & Be Merry in Maryland” and “Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen” as well as less sweeping books presented by everyone from small churches to local television chefs to the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company. I guess after spending some time with these other books I have come to have a greater understanding of what a treasure “Maryland’s Way” truly is.

Inside cover, “Maryland’s Way”

“Treasure” is the first word that comes to my own mind but an article written by the former director of the Hammond-Harwood House, Carter Lively* refers to it as a “masterpiece” which is every bit as fitting.

On first glance you might assume this cookbook is similar to a church fundraising cookbook with recipe contributions contributed by members. But then the attributions reveal something more: Baked Seafood in Shells.. Mrs. William W. Paca; Mrs. Virgil Maxcy’s Fried Chickens.. original receipt 1815; Chestnut Stuffing.. Mrs. Dorsey’s receipt 1855; Charles, Talbot, Annapolis, Chestertown, Wye River..

“Maryland’s Way” is no ordinary community cookbook. It is a collection of historical documents, compiled in a gargantuan effort and preserved for posterity.

“Mrs. Hope Andrews of Tulip Hill, who was serving as the President of the Hammond-Harwood House Association, and her close friend and fellow trustee Mrs. Frances Kelly decided they needed to raise funds for the Hammond-Harwood House museum by producing and selling a cookbook which would incorporate the culinary traditions of Maryland’s historic past.

They started testing recipes and reading old manuscripts in 1958 and after five years of hard work they produced a masterpiece of 372 pages filled with classic photographs by Aubrey Bodine and Marion Warren and over 700 traditional recipes springing from historic 18th and 19th-century Maryland cook’s notes, diaries, and recipe books.” – A Historic Cookbook, Carter Lively, 2013

For a mid-century cookbook, it’s quite ahead of its time. I have not really done any digging into the food histories in other states but one wonders if they should all be so lucky.

Just in case I haven’t done enough gushing over the book, another thing about it is striking to me. For a fund-raising cookbook from the 1960s, “Maryland’s Way” is beautifully designed. If it weren’t for the yellowed pages on my copy, it would be hard to estimate a publication date. For a benefit cookbook, the illustrations, photo usage and layout are strikingly cohesive and thoughtful.

“Maryland’s Way” was published to raise funds for the Hammond-Harwood House, but it actually made me aware of the house’s very existence. This 1774 architect’s delight is full of paintings by Charles Wilson Peale, host to a unique variety of interactive educational events, as well as the usual tours of the house itself. Since it is right downtown in Annapolis it makes for a nice day-trip, perhaps alongside a stop in the nearby Paca House, and if you’re like me… a look at the place where William Faris’ garden once stood.

Sadly I can’t make it to Annapolis more often. However, my copy of “Maryland’s Way” is never very far from my reach when I feel the urge to browse some more Maryland history.