In 1971, a woman in Fruitland, MD, recovering from an illness, took out an ad in the Salisbury Daily Times to express gratitude towards the “many friends who contributed in any way” towards her recovery. She thanked friends, neighbors, ambulance drivers, doctors, her Pastor, and she praised the Lord. She also thanked “Bill Phillips and…
This recipe comes from a popular cookbook produced by the Maryland Seafood Marketing Authority. First produced in 1974, the book was developed with the aid of “state seafood home economist” Beverly Butler in order to “expand the role of the Chesapeake Bay seafood industry as a major contributor to the state’s economy.” At the time,…
This is another entry laden with tedious detective work, my unrestrained fanaticism ruining any possibility of ever attracting repeat readers. I’ll try to keep it brief. According to “The American Magazine and Historical Chronicle“, 1987, “famed Baltimore hostess, Mrs. B.C. Howard, compiled the earliest charity cookbook published in Maryland, Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen’(Baltimore,…
Though I’ve referenced her book a few times, I have been a bit neglectful in discussing Elizabeth Ellicott Lea, author of one of the oldest Maryland cookbooks. “Domestic cookery; useful receipts, and hints to young housekeepers” was first published in 1845, with several augmented editions printed in Baltimore in subsequent decades. In addition to famously…
A few weeks ago, while the snow was still coming down, with nowhere to go, I forced myself to do something that I haven’t done since the internet ostensibly put all of history at our fingertips: I called a stranger. The purpose of my call was to reach anyone involved in the cookbook “300 Years…