Sunday Rerun: "Pass the Gooseberry Fool!"

And I know you are tired of the same old carryout Moo Shu Poo Poo Platter, and the kids are howling because of all the carbs in pizza, and everyone else is not sure if they are vegan or meatan.  I think I stumbled upon the answer!

They didn't have the internet in 1838, but they did have Mrs. Mary Randolph, whose motto was "Method is the soul of management."

And she said that long before Method Man and Wu-Tang Clan were widely known. Perhaps Mary presaged their rise to fame, or perhaps it's all a crazy coincidence.

She imprinted her slogan on the cover page of her cookbook "The Virginia Housewife: Or, Methodical Cook." 

Click on the link and be transported to a world in which dinner was made without microwaves, without Rachael Ray, without so much as an air fryer.  No. In 1838, they had to fry their own air! And that was not pretty!

The cookbook was published here in Baltimore, at Plaskitt, Fite and Co.  I don't think they're in business anymore, and maybe it's because they put out cookbooks with recipes for "Soup of any kind of old fowl," and "Mock turtle soup of calf's head." Why they don't just call that "Calf's Head Soup" is not a topic covered in the book, but let's make a big kettleful and find out!

People who just ate calf's head soup for supper

Or, jump to page 87 and find out how to make "A Nice Twelve-O'Clock Luncheon."  "Cut some slices of bread tolerably thick, and toast them slightly; bone some anchovies, lay half of one on each toast, cover it well with grated cheese and chopped parsley mixed, pour a little melted butter on, and brown it with a salamander; it must be done on the dish you send it to table in."

First, I have to figure that the anchovies of 1838 were a whole lot bigger than your 2018 anchovy. How are you going to bone something no larger than 1/2 a stick of Juicy Fruit? I know a salamander is like a primitive toaster oven, though. This does sound like a tasty lunch, but who has anchovies sitting around ready to jump into action?

I find the cookbook fascinating! Check the recipes for Syllabub (page 148), Salamagundi (153), Walnut catsup (169), Gooseberry Fool (149) and soap (178).

All these recipes are like a walk down a long lonely memory lane. You know why people were so much thinner then? It's because they sat around putting walnut catsup on their syllabub, and soon lost whatever appetite they had in the dark to begin with.