July Foodie Holidays: Week 4

July 22: Penuche Fudge Day
July 23: Vanilla Ice Cream Day
July 24: Tequila Day
July 25: Hot Fudge Sundae Day
July 26: Coffee Milkshake Day, Bagelfest Day
July 27: Crème Brûlée Day, Scotch Day
July 28: Milk Chocolate Day
July 29: Chicken Wing Day, Lasagna Day
July 30: Cheesecake Day
July 31: Cotton Candy Day, Raspberry Cake Day

Another recipe from my mom, although it feels a little like cheating, because it's not really raspberry cake, so much as cake with raspberry sauce. Anyway, it's delicious. (I should double-check with her, though, because I don't believe she uses margarine anymore to cook with, and I don't know if it affects this particular recipe or not to substitute butter. Don't be afraid to ask your contributors for clarification, or to test the recipes yourself if you have the time!)

Pound Cake

1/2 lb margarine

1/2 C. Crisco

3 C. sugar

5 eggs

3 C. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Directions: Cream first three ingredients together well. Add the eggs one at a time. Alternately add the flour/baking powder and the milk. Add the vanilla and almond extract. Bake in a greased and floured tube (angel food) pan at 350ºF for 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool 2 hours (NOT upside down.) Serve with raspberry sauce.

Raspberry Sauce

2 10 oz. packages frozen raspberries

1 C. water

1 C. sugar

4 Tbsp. corn starch

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions: Reserving the juice, drain the thawed raspberries. Combine the juice, water, sugar and corn starch in a saucepan, cooking and stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in the lemon juice and the raspberries. Cool slightly. Serve warm over pound cake

July Foodie Holidays: Week 3

July 15: Tapioca Pudding Day
July 16: Corn Fritters Day, Fresh Spinach Day
July 17: Peach Ice Cream Day
July 18: Caviar Day, Hot Dog Day
July 19: Daiquiri Day
July 20: Fortune Cookie Day
July 21: Junk Food Day

No family recipes for this week, but as an historical aside, did you know that fortune cookies are not Chinese at all? There is a similar Japanese tea cookie (complete with fortune) that has been around since the 1800s, and competing stories over who invented the modern version in California in the late 1890s/1900s. They remained something that was largely seen as Japanese until WWII, when Japanese discrimination and resentment was strong, and those immigrants were placed in internment camps. It was then Chinese immigrants took over production of the cookies.

July Foodie Holidays: Week 2

July 8: Chocolate with Almonds Day
July 9: Sugar Cookie Day
July 10: Piña Colada Day
July 11: Blueberry Muffin Day, Mojito Day
July 12: Pecan Pie Day
July 13: Beans n' Franks Day, French Fries Day
July 14: Macaroni Day, Grand Marnier Day

You will likely receive more than one "best" recipe – below is one such example for the "best" sugar cookie recipe, one my father-in-law favored, that his mother made. I have two other "best" sugar cookie recipes. It's probably a good idea to just call all of them simply Sugar Cookies (or whatever your duplicate recipes are), to avoid any family arguments... (After all, you will know the truth.)

Sugar Cookies

1 C. shortening

2 C. sugar

3 eggs

flavoring (such as vanilla, lemon, almond, etc.)

1 tsp. soda

4 1/2 C. sifted measured flour

1 tsp. salt

Directions: Cream together the shortening, sugar, eggs, salt, flavoring and soda. Add flour and shape dough into an oval and wrap in wax paper or place into a plastic bag. Chill at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Use a pastry canvas and covered rolling pin. Flour both lightly. Take out 1/4 or less of the dough. Keep remaining dough chilled. Roll dough into 1/4" or 3/8" thickness. With flour cutter, place cutter on dough and press down firmly with fingers all around the edges to make sure the entire image is cut. With spatula, lift cutter and dough. With thumb, rub cutting edge clean of dough. Then, using thumb, gently press dough into design of the cutter. Be careful never to press closer than 1/4" from the edge of the cutter. SLAP cutter down on table or cookie sheet and dough will come right out. Flour cutter before cutting the next cookie. Bake cookies 12-15 minutes. Do not allow to brown. Cool thoroughly before decorating.

July Foodie Holidays: Week 1

July is National Baked Bean Month, Bison Month, Culinary Arts Month, Grilling Month, Hot Dog Month, and Ice Cream Month.

July 1: Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day, Gingersnap Day
July 2: Anisette Day
July 3: Chocolate Wafer Day, Eat Beans Day
July 4: Barbecued Spareribs Day, Caesar Salad Day
July 5: Graham Cracker Day, Apple Turnover Day
July 6: Fried Chicken Day
July 7: World Chocolate Day, Strawberry Sundae Day

This comes from my mom. I can't vouch for it because I am strictly bean-free (the texture totally squicks me out), but it's the only recipe I have that fits the bill for this week. Enjoy, I guess?

Bean Casserole

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can butter beans, drained

1 can baby lima beans, drained

1 can pork and beans

1/2 lb. turkey bacon

2 large onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 C. vinegar

3/4 C. brown sugar

Directions: Combine beans in a large casserole. Chop the bacon into 1” pieces and fry until crispy. Add the onion and garlic and fry until brown. Add sugar, mustard and vinegar; simmer 20 minutes. Pour over beans and mix. Bake 1 hour at 350ºF.

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Hey! See what I did up there? That is an example of what NOT to do in your family cookbook! You will almost certainly receive recipes from family members for things you don't like (maybe even despise). Doesn't matter. As a historian, your job isn't to edit history and censor it because it's icky or unhealthy (unless a healthy cookbook is specifically your theme). My advice to you is to gather everything you can, unselfishly and judgement-free. The people who are giving their time and recipes (and hopefully stories, too) are doing just that, and should expect nothing less from the person compiling it. So keep the "ew, gross" editorials to yourself when you're putting it all together. Future generations don't need that kind of color commentary, they can figure out what they like (or don't), the same way everyone else has – by tasting it!