Sliced Apple Pudding

After browsing for recipes for a cooking workshop, I came across this wonderfully easy recipe. Mary Randolph's Sliced Apple Pudding looked easy and tasty.

The Virginia Housewife, 1838

I started by peeling and slicing my apples- I chose two Granny Smith and Two Gala (maybe?)- they were what I had on hand from a mixed box. Next-six eggs- I had whisked them for around five minutes to get them "very light"- added two cups of whole milk. Adding flour is always a trail for me- I added one cup at a time, mixing the batter very well between, I ended up with four cups- it seemed to be the thickness of a cake batter. Adding a small cup of melted butter (around 1 1/2 sticks) mixing well. Then poured in the apple slices, mixing them in well. Four apples seemed to be just the right amount for this dish. I added some sugar, butter & nutmeg to the top.

Pudding before going into the oven. (I am such a messy cook!)

This recipe is large- so be prepared to use a very large dish (I ended up with a Pyrex mixing bowl). Into a 350* oven. It baked for around 40 minutes.  I found out when dishing it out that the middle had not set very well, longer in the oven, or a slightly  higher temp would have helped. Top each serving with some butter, sugar, and nutmeg as suggested. 

Hot Apple Pudding! 

The pudding was very good, the apples were still a little crisp as well. If you do not like a very sweet dessert this would be great for you since the only added sugar is on top. If you would like a sweeter pudding, add some sugar to the batter before adding the apples- a cup or so should be enough. Overall I do think that this will go in the index to try again! 

Chicken Pudding, A Favourite Virginia Dish

 I have seen this recipe  a few times while flipping through my copy of "The Virginia Housewife" and have read over it, but never felt inspired to make it,until now. My DH has a thing for puddings & meat pies, so this incorporates both.
So here from Mary Randoldph's The Virginia Housewife, 1838. 

I halved the recipe since making a pudding of four chickens seemed a bit large! For my version I used 4 large eggs (modern eggs are larger), 1 1/2 cups of milk with 1/2 cup of cream (richer flavor), and about a half a stick of butter. 

The recipe suggest four chickens, four....no. I used two large chicken breasts with three legs, this gave me plenty of meat for the pudding. I boiled the chicken first as directed with a bundle of fresh thyme & parsley. 

Let the chicken cool while beating the eggs/milk/butter. Add flour to thicken the batter, I am not sure how much I used, I spooned it in, but it was less than half a cup. When the batter is combined, take the meat from the bones in small pieces and add to the batter, stir once to incorporate.  It looks like a thick soup! 

Put the pudding in a 350* oven. Depending on the heat of your oven, this could be anywhere from 30-50 minutes. I took mine out after 35 minutes, and it maybe could have stayed in a few minutes longer. Let it sit for a few minutes to cool & absorb any liquid that may be left. It will be a nice golden brown! 

Chicken Pudding right out of the oven!

I made a nice chicken gravy to serve with the pudding, as suggested, but I didn't think I was going to need it. I served the dish with a side of oven-roasted root vegetables (yummy!). It was still a bit runny when I cut into it, so it could have cooled a while longer. 

There have been a few great successes with my period cooking experiments, and this one seems to be a great hit! DH at almost half of the pudding himself! The gravy was a great addition. The pudding is a bit on the bland side, but I should have added more salt. Overall, this is a great meal! I may have to try it next time I'm cooking in the field! 

Pumpkin this, pumpkin that

Now that fall is here I have pulled a compilation of pumpkin reciept's to try! I have found a variety of pie & pudding reciept's over the past few days. Here is a sampling of what I have found from a few go-to books.

Confederate Receipt Book, 1863

I did make this pumpkin bread a few years ago for a shortages program. I used canned pumpkin & not fresh. The result was a heavy, "gummy" bread that received mixed reviews. 

The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia, 1861

The Virginia Housewife, 1838

The Practical Cookbook, 1850

Bread-and-Butter Fruit Pudding

To try a bread pudding has been on my list for a while now, but I had not found a recipe that looked good. This one comes from The Practical Housekeeper, 1855. Bread-and-Butter Fruit Pudding can be found on page 69.

The recipe seems simple enough. One pound of light bread, I chose a whole loaf of white bread from the grocery store bakery, and sliced it thin as directed, now, I am horrible at slicing bread, so by the end of the loaf it was a squished mess!  After the bread was sliced, I started lying it in the bottom of a glass baking dish. I chose unsalted butter, at room temperature for easy spreading, and gave each slice a liberal spreading of butter.  Since you can choose any type of fruit, I went with the traditional raisins & dates (also DH loves these!). Layer the bread & fruit until you are out of bread.  My dish was quite full to the top with the bread &  fruit. 

Next, the "pudding". Beat 8 eggs, yes 8! In order to keep measurements close to originals I use medium eggs. Beat those to break the yolks, then add in the 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar, mix well. Then add the milk, three pints (equals 6 cups) and nutmeg. Half of a grated nutmeg. Well, I am unable to find whole nutmegs at my local store, so I guessed on how much ground nutmeg to use. And judging on the amount of bread & milk in this recipe I went with a scant tablespoon of ground nutmeg.  

The liquid gets poured over the bread & fruit. I would really recommend using a deep baking dish or even a bowl to bake this pudding in as there is a lot of milk & egg  that goes into this thing. I let the bread soak  for about 20 minutes to make sure it was saturated before putting it in the oven. 

Pudding just put in the oven!

The recipe does not tell how hot to get the oven, it only states to bake for three-quarters of an hour. Gee, thanks! So, since 350 seems to be a general setting, I put the pudding in at 350 for 45 minutes.  The top did brown well, but I think my oven rack was a little high. 

The pudding did seem done after the 45 minutes. Let it cool for a while. After dishing a little bit, it did seem a little runny.  The taste was pretty good, but did seem a bit bland compared to other bread puddings I had eaten. 

This would be good to use applesauce or peaches, as the recipe suggests. They would probably make the whole thing a little sweeter.  I would still call this pudding a success!!