A Taste of History

In 1947, Easton author Bellamy Partridge shared in the New Connecticut Cookbook an old family recipe called “Dead Dog.”  No actual dog or even a hot dog was part of the ingredients. The name was purely descriptive and meant to capture the reader’s attention. The dish consisted of a large flank steak rubbed with onion and seasoning and then stuffed and rolled till it resembled “a fat puppy.” Baked till glistening and served with gravy, it was a family favorite on Saturday nights. Bellamy shared many recipes passed down in his family from his maternal grandmother. He included comic and vivid descriptions of his family’s matriarch as she was so “decrepit” that they had to carry her into the kitchen where she could throw ingredients together with her eyes closed. And though she was not one for measuring, he likened her formulas to “a work of art.”

Cookbooks seem to be everywhere today, and cooking videos fill our digital streams with millions of delicious new ways of preparing food. For Bellamy back then, though, and I imagine for many of us still today, the most beloved recipes are those we associate with our families, friends, and good memories.  We make these dishes every year for special occasions; fortunately, many are recorded in family and community cookbooks.

Our Historical Society has several cookbooks from the early 19th to the 21st centuries, and we are displaying a number of these volumes in an exhibition at the Easton Public Library this September. While they are great to see on display, it didn’t seem much fun unless you could flip through the pages and explore them. So, you can now visit the Historical Society of Easton’s website and choose from a selection of digitized historic cookbooks and look through some of them in the comfort of your own kitchen. https://historicalsocietyofeastonct.org/2024/09/04/a-taste-of-easton-and-redding-cookbooks/
And with a nod to Martha Stewart, that’s a good thing because some of these items are too fragile and worn to handle.

What do we learn from these items? Well, for starters, in our earliest examples, you’ll get some practice if you struggle reading cursive. For your efforts, you will find recipes similar to those recorded in the first American cookbook by Anna Simmons and published in Hartford in 1796. As in her American Cookery, early Easton recipes have English and continental origins, but some distinctly American food traditions are also represented.  Our Turney Perry Cookbook includes recipes for Washington Cake, Pumpkin Preserves, River Water Beer, and Currant Wine. If you decide to try making any of these items, let us know and maybe invite us over!

Many of our cookbooks are scrapbooks that compile newspaper clippings and family recipes dating to the 19th and early 20th centuries, and they include a wide variety of dishes from traditional Scripture Cake recipes to instructions for Vassar Fudge.  These books give us insights about local homemakers who reveal their interests through their collections.  Sarah Mellen of Redding, for example, struggled with ailments for much of her life, and her cookbooks focus on a wide variety of home remedies. In other volumes, ingredients and brands that no longer exist give us clues about local consumer culture.  I personally never heard of Jell-O gelatin’s predecessor, Bromangelon, but apparently, it was the first flavored instant gelatin mix in our country and was often used in desserts.  Fading away in the 1930s as the Jell-O brand rose in popularity, probably because the latter was so much easier to pronounce, the only product today you might know that originated with the Bromangelon company is the Tootsie Roll.

Many of our historic cookbooks were published by civic groups and include recipes and artwork from notable locals in Easton and neighboring towns.  These include Tashua Tudor of Redding, Margit Dohanos of Westport, James Melton of Weston, and even Fairfield’s Margaret Rudkin of Pepperidge Farm fame. Easton author Edna Ferber had more than a passing interest in cooking and wrote the introduction for her sister’s book, Fannie Fox’s Cookbook, in 1923. Edna believed the modern American woman excelled in blending inherited recipes from many cultures into original savory dishes. Redding’s Poppy Cannon captured that ingenuity, and she is considered the very first TV chef when she hosted her segment on the “Today” show in 1952. On display at the Easton Library is her New Can-Opener Cookbook, first published in 1951, and it stands as the precursor to Sandra Lee’s “semi-homemade” cooking concept from the early 2000s.

Local agriculture is an essential element throughout our town’s cookbook history.  Recipes for canning and cooking produce grown here in victory gardens helped families make the most of wartime shortages in the 1940s. Substitutions for rationed sugar included helpful hints for using maple syrup and honey. The books also include creative ways to extend dairy and meat products as these ingredients were prioritized for the military. Beans, peas, and nuts were offered as important protein substitutes.  Even fat drippings from household kitchens were used in the war efforts. One pound of fat could supply enough glycerin to produce one pound of explosives, and all-American cooks were urged to collect any excess renderings and deliver them to their local butcher. Fast forward to the year 2000, when the COVID-19 pandemic limited supplies once again; the Citizens for Easton Cookbook is a beautiful compilation of recipes drawing on ingredients grown and produced in our town.

Looking back at the history of Easton cookbooks, we most certainly had to include the 1971 Orchard Sampler by Redding author Marjorie Page Blanchard.  Written with the help of Richard Quinton, who ran the orchards of the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company, this charming little book records several historical recipes using apples, peaches, and pears. When I noticed its “Best Apple Pie” recipe, I was sure to copy it for this fall season.  I am confident that, with their combined experience, they are a better judge than I am. Plus, I have never added pears and rum to my apple pie-filling!

Our digital cookbook collection is here to inspire and challenge anyone at any time of the year, but particularly if they would like to join in for this year’s Taste of Easton and Redding event on October 5th from 1 to 3 pm at the Easton Public Library Community Room. Founded in 2022 by Salvatore Giardina and Sheila Lincoln Papps to unite community members through a shared love of food, Taste of Easton and Redding is a Facebook-based group that has grown to more than 1000 members. Their shared recipes, free food festivals, and potlucks have brought residents together through the joy and camaraderie of good eats. Anyone interested in signing up for this October event should join their Facebook page and register to participate. https://www.facebook.com/groups/292256432939141/ And be sure to share your favorite recipes, food memories and photos with our Historical Society! https://www.facebook.com/historicalsocietyofeastonct/