Cross Country Cookery Cookbook

Cross Country Cookery is a hand-written, spiral-bound cookbook I found years ago at a thrift store.

The cookbook was compiled by Mrs.N.C. (Helen Bemis) Black who passed away in 2015. Even her obituary in the Richmond Times Dispatch mentions that she was, “an award-winning, renowned chef…who would spend hours cooking and preparing for her company. She was adored by all who knew her and will be greatly missed.”

I’m happy to have my copy to be able to share these recipes with you.

Cross Country Cookery was a labor of love for me to type – here’s a typical page:

Still, this is an awesome cookbook, privately published in 1976. It’s recipes (of course,) but also tips and those cute pseudo-recipes like Christmas Cheer and the Cookie Bush and Doughnut Tree.

It will take some time to get them all onto My Great Recipes Collection. But we’ll get there – eventually. To whet your whistle, take a look at this alphabetical list of the food recipes:

7-Weeks Bran Muffins
Alaska King Crab
Almond Cookies
Almond Macaroons
Al’s Red Snapper
Appetizer Cheese Cake
Apple Sauce Salad
Arnaud’s Shrimp Sauce
Asparagus Salad Mold
Asparagus Supreme
Asparagus Vinaigreete
Aunt “Gar’s” Sausage
Bacon Pinwheels
Baked Eggplant
Baked Eggs & Tomatoes
Baked Salmon Loaf
Banana Nut Bread
Banana Nut Cake
Banana Pops
Banana split Cake
Barbecue Broiled Shrimp
Barbeque cups
Basic condiments for pork dishes
Beef and Pea Pods
Beef Burgundy
Beef mexicali
Beef Stroganoff
Beef with Sherry
Beer Biscuits
Beer Muffins
Belgian Brisket of Beef
Benne Wafers
Bertha’s Chocolate Pie
Bertha’s Rolls
Best-Ever Chili
Bitsy’s Biscuits
Black Bottom Cup Cakes
Black Bottom Pie
Blueberry Salad
Blushing Apples
Brandy Alexander Frappes
Brazil Nut Fruitcake
Bread Delicious
Brownie Drops
Butterfly Pork Chops
Cabbage hollandaise
California Fig Loaf
Caramel Fruit Cake
Carrot Cake and Icing
Cheddar-Ale Spread
Cheese and crabmeat
Cheese Balls
Cheese Bread
Cheese cake
Cheese Carrots
Cheese Dreams
Cheese Roll
Cheesed Potatoes
Cheese-Pimiento Biscuits
Cheeses Crispies
Chef’s Salt
Cherry Salad
Cherry-Chip Cake
Chicken Casserole
Chicken Casserole II
Chicken Jubilee
Chicken Kieff or Kiev
Chicken Nuggets
chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini
Chicken-Wild Rice Casserole
Chili Nuts
Chive Butter
Chocolate Filled Snowballs
Chocolate Fondue Sauce
Chocolate Pound Cake
Chocolate-Rum Walnut Mousse
Christmas Stollen
Cinnamon Apple Salad
Clam Bake
Coconut Circles
Coconut Drop Cookies
Coconut Filling (Old Time)
Coconut Ice-Cream Balls
Coconut Pecan Frosting II
Coconut-Almond Cookies
Coconut-Pecan Frosting
Coctail olives
Coffee with Chocolate
Cook While You Sleep Cookies
Copper Coins
Crab Dip
Crabmeat en Coquilles
Cranberry Jelly
Cranberry Orange Bread
Cranberry Orange Cake
Cream Cheese Tea Biscuits
Creamed Celery Supreme
Creole Eggs

Creole Gumbo
Crunchy Munchies
Date Nut Bread
Date Squares
Deviled Crabs
Deviled Green Beans
Deviled Peas
Dilly Casserole Bread
Double-Decker
Easy Beet Ring
Easy Shrimp Sauce
Emerald Rice
Fancy Franks
Festive Carrot Ring
Fiesta Cheese Balls
Flaky Pie Crust
For Brunch
Forever Ambers
French Chocolate
French Fried Mushrooms and Sauce
French Market Doughnuts
Fresh Lemon Charlotte
Fresh Peach and Green Grape Pie
Frozen Daiquiri
Frozen Fruit Salad
Fudge Cake
Fudge Cake (Layer) and Icing
Fudge Sauce
Garlic Grits
General Standby Curry Powder
German Sweet chocolate Cake
Gingerbread men
Gingersnap Crust
Glazed Strawberry Pie
Golden Fish Bake
Golden Parrott Baked Stuffed Shrimp
Gooseberry Salad
Granola
Grasshopper Pie
Green Beans Amandine
Green Noodle Casserole
Grilled Lamb Steaks
Guacamole
Ham Loaf
Ham Timbales and Sauce
Ha’Penny Snacks
Heavenly Ice Cream Puff Fondue
Holiday Caviar Mold
Holiday Fruitcake Cookies
Holly Berry Sauce
Honey Wheat Bread
Hopping John
Hot Broccoli Dip
Hot Clam Dip
Hot Spicy Meat Balls
Ice Cream
Ice Cream Cake
Ice Cream Punch
Jalapeno Corn Bread
Key Lime Pie
Lady Baltimore Cake and Frosting
Lane Cake
Lane Filling
Lasagne
Lemon Butter for Fish
Lemon Caramel Sauce
Lemon Squares and Icing
Lemonade N Cake Loaf
Lime Sherbert
Lotus Cream
Maids of Honor
Mars Bars
Mary Lee’s Brownies
Meat Loaf
Meltaways
Men-Like-It Salad
Meringe
Millionaire Salad
Mimi’s Gingerbread
Miniature Cream Puffs
Mock Chicken Legs
Monkey Bread
Mother’s Boiled Custard
Mother’s Cheese Straws
Mother’s Popcorn Balls
Mother’s Sour Cream Cake
Mother’s Sponge Cake
Mother’s Whipped Cream Salad Dressing
Mushroom Sauce
Mushroom-Olive Sauce
Mushrooms a la King
Mushrooms and Chicken Livers
Mushrooms in Sour Cream
Mustard Pickle
Mustard Ring Mold
Nick’s Bourbon Baked Beans
Noodle Stacks
Oatmeal Cookies
Old Denmark Gourmet
Orange Liqueur
Orange Spiced Tea
Overnight French Toast
Oysters Lafitte
Paella
Parker Ranch Pheasant or Grouse
Pecan Cake
Peche Brevard
Perfumed Rose Petals
Pineapple Sherbert
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Pink Grapefruit ad Avacado Salad
Pixie Pie
Plum Pudding Sauce
Pompano en Papillote
Popsicles
Potato Buns
Prune Cake
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Pumpkin Nut Bread
Quiche Lorraine
Quick Fudge Sauce
Ratatouille
Raw Cranberry Congealed Salad
Remoulade Sauce
Rice Ring
Rio Grande Dip
Roux
Sand Tarts
Sand Tarts II
Sandbakkelse (Swedish Tarts)
Sander’s Casserole
Sausage Balls
Sausage Casserole
Sausage in the Skillet
Sausage Pinwheels
Savannah Red rice
Scalloped Eggplant DeLuxe
Scallop-Shrimp Newburg
Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Seven Minute Frosting
Shell Hors D’oeuvres
Sherried Sweet Potatoes
Sherry Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Shoofly Pie
Shrimp Canton
Shrimp Christmas Tree
Shrimp Creole
Shrimp Croquettes
Shrimp Curry
Shrimp De Jonghe
Shrimp Paste
Shrimp Pilau
Shrimp Spread
Shrimp-Crab Casserole
Snowball Cake and Topping
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Sour Cream Gravy
Sour Cream Rice
Sour Dough Bread
Sour Dough Starter
Spaghetti Sauce Supreme
Spanish Cheese Balls
Special French Dressing
Spinach Madeleine
Spumoni
Steak Diane
Steak Parmigiana
Strawberry Cake and Frosting
Strawberry Dessert Bread
Stuffed “Guinea Squash”
Stuffed Cherries
Sweet Potato Balls
Swiss Green Beans
Tartar Sauce
Tea Time Tassies
Tenderloins in tomato Wine Sauce
Three Bean Salad
Three Layer Appetizer
Tomato Cheese Dip
Tomato Soup Aspic
Tonya’s Chicken
Tournedos
Trout Amandine
Tuna Casserole
Tuna or Salmon Patties
Tuna Tamale Pie
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Turkey Amadine
Veal Scallopini
Viennese Torte
Vintage Fruit Sauce
Watergate Scandal Cake and Icing
Weiner Schnitzel
Whipped Ginger Topping
Whiskey Sour
White Fruit Cake
Wild Rice Pilaf
Wine Cheese Spread
YumYum Salad
Zucchini Squash Bread

Raised Mexican Cornbread

In 1977, Helen Bemis Black’s recipe for Raised Mexican Cornbread won the grand prize, best-of-contest in that year’s James Beard Creative Cookery Contest.

She beat more than 22,000 competitors for the top prize of a course in expert cooking techniques at the James Beard School in New York, and a week in New York for two with travel and expenses paid.

At the time she told reporters that she read about the contest shortly before going to sleep, and “dreamed about this recipe, and the next day I got up and tried it.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the complete recipe. The two sources I looked at had the recipe, but the OCR hadn’t translated the ingredients in a way that makes 100% sense. Still, I’m publishing this in hopes that some intrepid reader will try this out.