Eggs Normandy

This item comes from May Craig, Washington Correspondent for The Guy Gannett Newspapers and Broadcasting Services of Maine, and former WNPC President.

I wonder if our soldiers in the middle east tell similar stories?

Scene: Normandy Beachhead

Camped around edges of Normandy apple orchards in 1944 campaign, cold and muddy and a mile and a half from the mess tent... Swapped off PX cigarettes for shell eggs from nearby farmers--change from powdered eggs... "Liberated" bit of butter or shortening from mess tent, and cheese from rations... "Liberated" a little gasoline from nearest jeep.

Eggs Normandy

To make Eggs Normandy under above conditions: Dig hole in ground between tents and loosen earth in it. Pour in a little gasoline. Put ingredients in mess kit, cover and cook over flame from earth mixed with gasoline. Only do this in daylight because night air raids mean blackout. If small empty tin can is available keep earth in it in tent to keep dry. Can cook over can instead of hole in ground. If no gasoline, bits of corrugated box, or twigs, under small stones to hold heat, and set mess kit on, for cooking.

To make Eggs Normandy for supper at home: Melt dab of butter in small pan; into this break two eggs, add pepper and salt to taste. Lay two slices of cheese on top of eggs. When served as breakfast dish, cover pan and cook over slow fire. For dinner dish, put under broiler until cheese browns. Cheese may be sharp or mild, according to taste, or grated Parmesan. A dash of garlic powder may be added.

No Gateau for You!

This recipe comes from Josephine Ripley who worked for the Christian Science Monitor's Washington Bureau.

Giving dinner to Virginia-born Lady Astor presented an unexpected problem for my editor, Erwin Canham, and his wife. The Canham maid, also from Virginia, held her own opinion of highborn ladies from her State. When informed that Lady Astor was to be a dinner guest, she muttered ominously, "She'll be late." She was.

When Lady Astor complimented the Gateau Fromage, Mrs. Canham rang for the maid to bring another serving to her distinguished guest. To her amazement, the servant announced flatly: "There ain't no more, ma'am."

There was, as Mrs. Canham knew--but not apparently for Lady Astor.

Gateau Fromage

Line pie plate with pastry. Grate into it 1/2 pound cheese--aged, sharp cheddar.

Mix: 1 beaten egg, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 scant cup milk.

Pour over the cheese without stirring. Jiggle plate a bit to mix. Bake in a quick, very hot oven, 450 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes.

Let set a few minutes until it will cut neatly, but is still hot. Use as a first course, or a luncheon dish, with tossed salad.

Hollywood Kidney Stew

This story and recipe come from Gretchen Smith, "Special Writer" (wonder what that means?)

Don't you love the cameraman's outfit? And mustache? I also dig the mid-century modern table legs sticking out from beneath the tablecloth.

The best thing about this entry is getting the inside scoop on what those crazy Hollywood folks like to eat. Serve it to all your A-list guests, and you'll be sure to get rave reviews.

A popular dish for Sunday brunch is kidney stew and waffles. I often entertained friends in Hollywood with this morning repast when I was living not far from Sunset Boulevard.

I won't offer a recipe for waffles; you'll find a good one on every package of waffle flour you buy. But kidney stew is another matter.

Don't buy anything but veal kidneys. They never have that strong taste you frequently find in lamb or beef kidneys. Below is the recipe which will serve two bountifully. Just multiply it for the number you want to entertain.

(Ed. Note: Did YOU know there was such a thing as "waffle flour"? I wonder if it sat on the shelves next to "pancake flour", and if so, what the difference was between them.)

Kidney Stew

1 pair veal kidneys

1/4 pound butter or margarine

1 medium-size onion

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup hot water

1 can consomme

1 can mushroom soup

1/2 cup white wine

Salt and pepper to taste

Remove tissue and core from kidneys. Cut kidneys into medium-size pieces (size of a small mushroom). Melt the butter and when sizzling, add the chopped kidneys, turning them to brown quickly on all sides. This takes about 5 minutes. Remove them at once from the skillet and place to one side. Brown the chopped onion in the "kidney butter". As soon as it is brown, add the flour and brown this also to a deep golden hue. Add the hot water slowly, stirring the onion and flour until you have a thick gravy. Stir the flour constantly while adding the water, not to have it lumpy. Add the consomme to the gravy, stirring constantly to make it smooth. Add the mushroom soup and stir well.Salt and pepper to taste. Then put the sauteed kidneys into the mixture and simmer slowly about 10 minutes. Then add the wine, cover and keep hot until ready to serve. Pour over waffles or hot, crisp toast.

Syndicate Spaghetti

This morning's recipe comes from the same source as yesterday's.


Here's what she says:

Despite safaris to Italy, my favorite Italian spaghetti is still this American short-cut dish. It was, in fact, the first thing I learned to cook. Married while a reporter on Hearst's Detroit Times, I had never even opened a can. While covering a murder trial a few days after my wedding, a rival reporter asked in a stage-whisper if I knew how to cook.

At the shake of my head, she scribbled this recipe and advised me to concentrate on quick-to-cook meals. I tried it on Bob that evening and it was so foolproof that we've eaten it regularly ever since.

I love the image of two reporter ladies chatting about spaghetti sauce while covering a murder trial. Must have been a mob hit.

Here's the recipe. You may have to go to a specialty to shop to find the long type of spaghetti. I know I did.

Italian Spaghetti

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

1 can Italian tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon oregano (optional)

Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in heavy iron skillet, add onion rings and chopped garlic clove. Saute until golden brown. Add ground beef and brown thoroughly, using fork to separate meat. Add tomato paste and 3 cans hot water. Salt and pepper to taste and let simmer 1/2 hour. Just before serving, add oregano, if desired. Serve with hot Italian spaghetti--the long, extra-thin type--and grated Parmesan cheese. A tossed green salad completes the meal. Makes 2-4 servings.

Post-Pompeii Souffle

Here's another souffle recipe in case you aren't in a prune mood. This one comes from New York Daily News political columnist and former WNPC president Ruth Montgomery.

She writes:

A highlight of one of the most perfect days I ever spent was this chocolate souffle. Leaving Pompeii,we traveled by car along the Amalfi Drive in Southern Italy. At dusk we reached quaint Ravello (where Greta Garbo once fled from the press for an idyllic sojourn with Leopold Stokowski). At the Hotel Caruso Belvedere, a quaint, ageless inn, we dined luxuriously in the patio with the entire bay of Salerno at our feet. This was the dessert--so superb that I wangled the recipe.

What a story! And what a dessert! So simple. Perhaps it's time for souffles to make a comeback.

Chocolate Souffle

Cherry preserves

2 eggs

1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa

Separate the eggs. Beat whites until stiff, then add the yolks and stir gently. Add the cocoa and sugar, little by little, continuing to stir gently. Place in individual buttered baking dish, on the bottom of which has been arranged a thin layer of cherry preserves. Bake in moderate oven until souffle rises, then serve at once. This serves one; increase ingreedeints according to number of servings desired.

Ready or Not, Here Comes the Prune Souffle!

I am irresistably drawn to prune recipes. Not so much the savory, but the sweet.


This one is brought to you by Helen Hill Miller, who was president of the Women's National Press Club at the time the cook book was produced.

Enjoy!

My cooking life started late. After college, when I went to work, I lived at a club. After marriage, when I went to Geneva, we lived at a hotel. On returning to the United States, I found Emma Smith, who lived with us for seventeen years. After Emma retired, I had to put my shoulder to the can opener. (Note to beginners: a hand is better.) My performance is spotty. But I can make a superb souffle, from an old family recipe.

Prune Souffle

1/2 cup prunes, cooked until soft, pits out

1/3 teaspoon cream of tartar

Whites of 5 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Whipped cream plus sugar and vanilla--be as generous as you like

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat prunes and cream of tartar together until very smooth; stir in sugar. Beat egg whites stiff. Fold egg whites into prune mixture. Pour into baking dish, preferably a pretty one, since it's going straight to the table from the oven.

Bake half an hour in the moderate oven (without opening door to see how things are coming). Prepare bowl of whipped cream, adding spot of vanilla, dash of sugar and put in ice box.

Disregard all social amenities when the half-hour is up. Serve the souffle then, whether guests or family are ready or not.

Crab Imperial Quickie

I chose this one because the story mentions a dinner for President Eisenhower.

Plus I love that she advises us all to roll our own cracker crumbs.

Not to mention the name.

New Cookbook Day! Who Says We Can't Cook!

Hip hip hooray, it's new cookbook day! In coming weeks I will be posting recipes from Who Says We Can't Cook!, published in 1955 by the Women's National Press Club.

Many of the stories are about interesting historical events, others are more personal or familial in nature.

Hope you enjoy them!

The inscription below states that the book was given following the ASNE Week in Washington DC in 1972. ASNE stands for the American Society of News Editors.

Here's the title page.

Check out a closeup of the picture:

I love how this little lady is typing away industriously, pertly perched atop her travel worn trunk.
The Foreword opens:

This Women's National Press Club Cook Book is not so much a defense of the culinary talents of newspaper women as it is a profit-making venture. We want a clubhouse of our own. With the help of this book, we expect to have a clubhouse, sooner.

Who Says We Can't Cook!" bears the trademark of our profession--a story accompanies each recipe. This joint journalistic venture, a cook book with more than 140 authors, reflects the kaleidoscopic personalities of our profession."

(In fact, this book may indeed include more famous by-lines--over more exclusive copy--than any other volume in history.)

Many of the stories describe significant historical or cultural events, others are more personal or familial in nature.

Hope you enjoy them!