A Colonial Plantation Cookbook

The Receipt Book of Harriott Pinckney Horry, 1770

Richard J. Hooker, Richard J. Hooker

• Editore: University of South Carolina Press
• Anno: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781643361161
• Argomento: Arte
• Categoria: Artes culinarias

"A charming compilation of eighteenth-century recipes... a well-researched account of Mrs. Horry's fascinating life-style." — The North Carolina Historical Review Harriott Pinckney Horry began her receipt book more than two hundred years ago. It is being published now for the first time. You will get a lively sense of what colonial plantation life was like from reading Harriott's receipt book. She began it in 1770, shortly after she was married, writing recipes and household information in a notebook. Her recipes reflect both English and French culinary traditions. You will recognize in the recipes the origins of some of your contemporary favorites. Harriott writes also about keeping the dairy and smokehouse, how to dye clothes, what to do about insects, how to care for trees and crops, and how to make soap, all skills she learned in the course of managing the plantation after her husband's early death. From Harriott's writing and Hooker's knowledgeable introduction and editorial notes, you will learn what it was like to be well-to-do and a member of Southern aristocracy, living in a world of rice and indigo planters, merchants, lawyers, and politicians—the colonial elite. Because knowing about food preferences and eating habits of any people expands our understanding of their nature and times, the receipt book of Harriott Pinckney Horry opens another window on the history of colonial plantations. "Gives us a very good idea of the household's prize dishes." — The Washington Post "Cookbook collectors will love it and even readers who don't enter the kitchen will find it entertaining." — The Charleston Evening Post

Harriott Horry 1770

[The following recipes were omitted from Harriott’s table of contents through error or as late acquisitions. The titles are as they appear on the recipes, and the pagination is Harriott’s:]

[The last four recipes are on loose sheets or scraps of paper. They are without page numbers.]

[Rum Punch]

To make Solid Syllabub, a nice dessert

Orange flower syrup

Kitchen Pepper

[1] To make good Gravy

Take a peice of lean Beef cut in thin Peices put a peice of Butter in Your Stew Pan and fry it Brown but take care it does not Burn. Season it with Pepper, Salt, Mace and Cloves; when it becomes a little Brown thro’ in a little Strong broth made of some Beef or Veal Bones, a Couple of Anchovies,¹ and a Gill of Claret, boil it up and set it by for any use in the Savory way of Cooking.

To Dress a Calves Head

Boil the head till the Tongue will Peal, then cut half the Head into small peices, about the size of an oyster, then stew it in Strong Gravy, with a large Ladle full of Claret, and a handfull of sweet herbs, a little lemon peal, a peice of Onion and Nutmeg. Let all These stew till they are tender: Take the other half of the head and boil it, scratch it across, strew over it grated Bread and sweet herbs with a little lemon Peal: Lard it with Bacon, and wash it over with the Yolks of Eggs, and strew over it a little grated Bread and Place it in the middle of your dish. Then put a pint a pint [sic] of strong Gravy into your stew pan with three Anchovies, a few Capers² a good many Mushrooms a good quantity of sweet Butter, and a quart of large Oysters; stew the Oysters in their own liquor with a Blade of Mace and a little white wine, keep the largest to fry, and shred a few of the smallest; then Beat the Yolks of Eggs [2] and Flour, dip them in and fry them in Hogs Lard, make little Cakes of the Brains and dip them in and fry them, then pour the stew’d meat in the dish with the other half of the head, and lay the fried Oysters, Brains and Tongue, with little bits of crispt bacon, and force meat³ Balls, on the Top and all about the meat, garnish with horseradish and Barberries⁴ and serve it hott.

x White Frigasee

Parboil your Chicken, then skin them and cut them in peices and put them in a stew pan with gravy, a blade of mace, Nutmeg, two Anchovies, the Echalots, a little salt, whole pepper and white wine. When they are enough take out the Echalots and put in half a pint of good Cream, a peice of Butter roled in flow’r and thicken it with the Yolk of an Egg; wring in the juice of a Lemon, but be very carefull it don’t curdle. Mushrooms, a few Capers, and Oysters fried, and a little of their liquor if you have it. Then serve it to the Table on Sippets.⁵

x Brown Frigasee

Take Rabbits or Chickens, season them with salt, Pepper, and a little Mace, then put half a pound of Butter in your pan,⁶ Brown it, and dredge it with flower; cut up your Chickens put them in and fry them Brown and have ready a quart of good strong gravy, Oysters, Mushrooms, three Anchovies a chalot or two, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a glass of Claret. [3] Season it high, and when they are boil’d enough take out the herbs, Chalots and Anchovies Bones, shred a lemon small and put in, and when your Chickens are almost brown enough, put them in and let them stew altogether keeping them shaking all the time its on the fire, and when it is as thick as cream, take it up and have ready to lay over it some Bitts of crispt Bacon, Fry Oysters in Hogs lard to make them look Brown, dip them in the Yolks of Eggs and Flour, and a little grated Nutmeg; and Forcemeat Balls: Garnish with Lemon and flowers and serve it.

x Scots Collops⁷

Take a Leg of Veal cut off as much into thin slices as you think will make a dish. Beat it with your rowling Pin, scratch it with a knife, Lard it with Lemon Peele, Bacon, and Thyme: then take sweet Marjoram, savory, Parsley, young Onions, Pepper, Salt, and a little Nutmeg. Chop them fine, and rub the Meat well with them. Fry them in a little fresh Butter, when they are fried enough take them out of the Pan and have ready a little strong Gravy, and dissolve some Anchovies in it, a glass of Claret, a Chalot or two a Lemon wrung in it and some lemon peele shred, let it stew between two dishes, and beat a peice of Butter with the Yolk of an Egg and thicken it up and pour it over your meat, with Crispt Bacon, fried Oysters, Mushrooms, Veal Sweet Bread pulld in little Peices, and forced meat Balls. Garnish with Horse radish and Barberries. Serve it_____

x [4] Beef Alamode

Take a peice of Fleshy Beef, (the round or thick Flank) take out the fat and Skin, and coarse; Then Beat it well and flatt it with the rowling pin or Cleaver, lard it with fat Bacon, quite through as long as your Meat is deep and as big as your finger, then season it high with Pepper, Salt, Cloves, Mace, and beaten Nutmeg, then put it into a Pot where nothing but Beef has been Boil’d in good strong Gravey, and put in a handfull of sweet herbs, a Bay leaf and Chariots, so let it boil till it’s tender, then put in a Pint of Claret, three Anchovies, and let them stew till you find the liquor tast well and the Meat is tender, (if there is more liquor than sufficient to make an End of stewing take out the Overplus before you put in the Wine and other things) then put all the things in and let it stew till you see the liquor to thicken, and tast well of the spice, then take it up and take out the Bay leaves and Chalots; You may eat it hot or cold.

x Collar’d Beef⁸

Take the Gristles out of a flank of Beef, and skin off the inside, then take two Ounces of Salt Peter,⁹ three Ozs. Bay salt, half a pound of Common Salt, and a quarter of a pound of Brown Sugar; Mix these all well to-gether and rub the Beef well, and put it into a pan with a quart of Spring Water, for four days, turning it once a day. Then take the Beef out and see that the fat and lean lie equal: then take some Pepper, Cloves and Mace [5] A good deal of Parsley and sweet Majoram shred small, mix these ingredients together and strew it over the inside of the Beef; then role it hard and fillet it close and sew it up in Cloth and tie it at both ends, in this Condition put it into a deep pan with the Pickle and a pint of Water. You may also add a pint of Claret and must put in an Onion stuck with Cloves and a pound of Butter. Then cover the Pan with a coarse past, and bake it all day. Then take it hot and role it harder, and put it to stand on one end, and a Plate at the Top and a weight on it, and let it stand till tis Cold. Then take it out of the Cloth and keep it dry.

x Pott Beef like Venison¹⁰

Cut Eight Pound of Lean Beef out of the Buttock or any other lean peice into Pound Peices, take six Ozs. salt Peter, half a pint of Peter Salt¹¹ and as much Common salt and rub the meat well with it and let it lie three or four days, then put it into a stone jarr and cover it with some of its own Brine and Pump Water and bake it, then Pick all the fatt and Skins from it and pound it very fine in a Marble Mortar; as you pound it pour in melted Butter enough to make it very moist, like paste. Add peper and salt to Your tast, and season it high with Spices. Then press it down in your Pot, and cover it with Clarified Butter or Mutton Suet.

x [6] Ragout a Breast of Veal

Take a large Breast of Veal, more than half roast it, cut it into four peices and have ready as much strong gravy as will cover it. Put it into your stew pan, season it high with Pepper, Cloves, Mace, and Nutmeg, a little Chalot, Lemon Peal, mushrooms, Oysters fried and stew’d; Sweet Breads skin’d and Pull’d in little peices, and when it is done enough fry your largest Oysters with Crispt Bacon and forced Meat Balls and put them in. But for a white ragoe take the same ingredients only boil the Breast of Veal in half Milk and water; with a bunch of sweet herbs, a little Lemon Peel, Mace, and whole Pepper; when it is enough wash it over with the Yolks, and a little Butter and put it into your Stew Pan, just long enough to make it look Yellow and thicken your sauce with the Yolks of Eggs, and a peice of Butter rowl’d up in flow’r with three Spoonfulls of Cream thickned up to-gether.

xTo Dobe a Rump of Beef¹²

Bone it and lard it with Bacon, Season it with Sweet herbs, Challots, Pepper, and Salt, Put it into your Pot (with just water enough to cover it) with Carrotts, Turnips, Onions, and whole Pepper, cloves and Mace; le...

Indice dei contenuti

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Treatment of the Text
• Acknowledgments
• Harriott Horry
• Index