Tag: recipes

Caramel Carrots

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Alexander Randall (1803-1881) was a prominent lawyer and businessman in Annapolis. He was a U.S. Congressman (Whig Party) from 1841 through 1843 representing Anne Arundel and part of Howard County as well as sections of Baltimore City. As a strong Unionist, he served from 1864 through 1868 during the Civil War and Reconstruction era as Attorney General of Maryland.Alexander Randall and Elizabeth Blanchard Randall (1827-1896) had seven children, Blanchard, Burton, Elizabeth, Henry, Daniel, Wyatt and Adelaide. Their son Blanchard Randall(1857-1942) was a prominent businessmen in the firm of Bill and Fiske in Baltimore and a philanthropist who served on the City-Wide Congress held in 1911 to establish the Baltimore Museum of Art….Susan Katherine Brune (1860-1937), wife of Blanchard Randall, was the great-granddaughter of Ambrose Clark, a prominent Baltimore merchant who traded with the West Indies and Europe in the late 18th and early 19th Century.“ – Maryland Historical Society

Oh hi. Just imagine if I had the time to go to the MD Historical Society and read all these letters to Blanchard Randall. They’re all there:

4 folders
Incoming Correspondence, 1891-1936
Baltimore Museum of Art, 1915
Reminiscences, undated
Passport, 1892

..at the historical society. Maybe he ‘reminiscences’ about his wife’s carrots.

They were good. I like carrots.

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Yes the ice is for show.

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When I took this photo there was steam rising from the carrots. I thought about drawing little steam lines to demonstrate but that seems too absurd for this dignified venture.

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When I was peppering this with my peppermill from Sav-A-Lot, the peppermill broke open and I had to pick all these peppercorns out of here before bringing it to brunch.
As is often the case when drippings are called for I cooked a few slices of bacon first.

I don’t have any fresh parsley right now but good ole vapid dry parsley worked in a kind of aesthetically pleasing way.

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Hot Slaw , Governor Lloyd Lowndes family

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This sufficiently tasty but not outstandingly delicious recipe comes to us courtesy of the family of Governor Lloyd Lowndes, governor of Maryland from 1896 to 1900. Lowndes’ lineage can be traced back to an early Maryland merchant settler and beyond, but I can’t find much readily available about his governing. I’m sure that further research is possible but I don’t have a book deal or anything so…. you know.

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Cabbage is a pretty ideal crop for Maryland

, and my books contain a variety of soups, slaws and meat dishes incorporating cabbage.

This one was a little different and exceptionally simple. I used red cabbage because it looks cool. The cabbage continued to cook itself too long and I may have ended up with more of a cooked cabbage dish than a ‘slaw,’ but as I said before it was palatable.

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Sorry about the quality of the photos.
I’m as bad at photography as I am at cooking. At least I can sort of write?

Sotterly Jumbles

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photo: Jody Scofield

“One of the pre-Revolutionary architectural treasures of St. Mary’s County, Maryland, is Sotterley, built in 1730. George Plater built the home, and upon his death passed it to his son, who later became the governor of Maryland. The grandson of the Governor eventually lost the estate at the gaming table to a Colonel Sommerville. Colonel Thomas Barber subsequently bought the property. It was the Barber womenfolk who handed down the recipe for Sotterley Jumbles for the delectation of us all. In this recipe, the cookie is rolled and cut, just one of the many possible shapings for this ancient form of ‘cake’.” – Southern Heritage Cookbook Library

This recipe was the most fun to read about, research, and to eat. It got a little confusing. The excerpt from Southern Heritage mentions the Barber family, but that name is not mentioned on the Sotterley website. What I gather from this account is that Thomas Barber willed (part of) the land to his step-daughter, and she married and took on the Briscoe name.

I actually tried to visit Sotterley Plantation but they are big liars about their hours and they were closed. I’m not too upset about it because I picked up some Stuffed Ham while I was down there. I’ll be back because look at this place:

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National Register of Historic Places

The Southern Heritage cookbook library version of the recipe that I used was likely sourced from “Eat, Drink & Be Merry in Maryland”, a classic Maryland cookbook which I’ll have to elaborate on later.

Sotterley Jumbles

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup brandy
  • 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
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Cream butter in a large mixing bowl; gradualy add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Stir in brandy, mixing well.

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Sift together flour, soda, and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture, mixing well to form a soft dough. Chill 2 hours.

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Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; roll to ¼-inch thickness. Cut with a 2-inch round cutter.

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Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

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Remove from cookie sheets, and cool on wire racks. Yield: about 6 dozen.

I liked them!

Mrs. Engle’s Spiced Beets

I prepared these for New Years brunch. Totally a perfect wintery-celebration side dish.

spiced beets

(Presented in my favorite green ceramic serving dish, photo c/o Abby.)

beets

Maryland’s Way: The Hammond-Harwood House Cook Book

spiced beets

(Waste not want not)

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1906 postcard c/o Southern Heritage cookbook

Maryland Rocks

maryland rocks

photo c/o official Old Line Plate photographer Abby Logsdon

Apparently this is an old one! This recipe is featured in The Thirteen Colonies Cookbook and At the hearth: Early American Recipes. Coincidentally they’re mentioned in there as “New Year’s Day Collation at Mount Clare”. (I made these to go with my New Years Day brunch) I didn’t really stray much from the recipe, aside from making them larger because I didn’t feel like spooning out 9 dozen little cookies. Ingredients * 1 cup butter or margarine, softened * 1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar * 3 eggs * 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour * 1 teaspoon baking soda * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon * 1 (15-ounce) package raisins * 2 cups chopped walnuts Preparation Cream 1 cup butter in a large mixing bowl; gradually add brown sugar, beating well.

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Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, soda, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl; stir well. Dredge raisins and walnuts in ¼ cup flour mixture in a small mixing bowl.

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Add remaining flour mixture to creamed mixture, stirring well. Stir in dredged raisin mixture.

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Drop dough by teaspoonfuls, 1 ½ inches apart, onto greased baking sheets.

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Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly on baking sheets before removing to wire racks.

Though I’m not a huge fan of raisins and raisin cookies, I’ve been snacking on these for days. “At The Hearth” suggested their flavor improves after sitting for a few days. I guess that’s when they become more like “rocks.” I expected something more hard to eat. These are no more… geological than your average crispy cookie.

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