My Great Recipes Collection

Great Recipes From the Past

Red Plastic Recipe Box

Roasting Corn Ears With Bacon Butter

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Is there still sweet corn available in your area of the country? Here in Michigan, sweet corn season is over, so I’ll hold this recipe for sweet corn with bacon butter until next summer.

The recipe was found in the Red Plastic Box collection that I picked up at an estate sale a few years ago. Note how the recipe was cut out of a magazine and taped onto a note card? You might call it charming, but I’d call it Pinterest before computers.  Everybody had a stash of handwritten recipes. EVERYBODY.

Sweet Corn with Bacon Butter

There are two good ways to grill roasting ears.

1) Remove 1 or 2 outer layers of husks from perfect ears of corn and pull out silks. Soak corn in water 10 to 20 minutes. Drain. Roast on the grill 10 to 20 minutes, turning frequently. Serve with Bacon Butter.

2) Or roast ears in foil. Remove all the husks and silks. Soak ears in cold water and drain. Spread each ear generously with soft Bacon Butter and wrap in foil, sealing tight. Roast on the grill 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Bacon Butter

Crumble a few slices of crisp, cooked bacon and mix with soft butter. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Shape into a slender roll, wrap in foil, and chill. Cut in chunks to serve with hot-from-the-grill corn.

Dora’s Spice Cake

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Here’s a mysterious handwritten recipe from the Red Plastic Box collection. I think it’s for a spice cake. What do you think?

handwritten recipe for spice cake from dora

Honestly, I don’t know how long to bake this, or in which pan to bake. I’m not even sure if it the title is Spice Leake or Spike Bake!

But I love that it’s from Dora, and that it’s considered fine!

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Spice Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sour milk
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Cream butter and sugar and add beaten eggs. 

  2. Sift all dry ingredients together and add alternately with milk.

Recipe Notes

I save part of the egg whites for icing and use part lard for the shortening. Dora.

(This is fine. )

 

Sweet Dill Pickles

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Here’s an interesting canning recipe for No. 1490 Sweet Dill Pickles. This Michigan Consolidated Gas Company recipe comes from a Red Plastic Box that I bought at an estate sale a few years ago.

sweet dill pickles no 1490 from michigan consolidated gas company

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Sweet Dill Pickles

Servings 6 pints

Ingredients

  • 4 quarts boiling water
  • 2 cups coarse salt
  • 75 2 to 3- inch cucumbers cut in quarters lengthwise
  • 1 teaspoon powdered alum
  • 7 cups vinegar
  • 5 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 tablespoons celery seed
  • 4 tablespoons cassia buds
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 6 tablespoons dill seed

Instructions

  1. Heat to boiling 4 quarts water and 2 cups salt. Cool.
  2. Pour over cucumbers. Cover and let stand 1 week. Drain.
  3. Cover with boiling water and let stand another 24 hours. Drain.
  4. Cover with boiling water; add 1 teaspoon alum and let stand 24 hours. Drain.
  5. Cover with hot sirup made from vinegar, sugar, celery seed, and cassia buds.
  6. For three successive days drain off sirup. Add 1 cup sugar and heat to boiling. Pour over pickles.
  7. On third day, pack in sterilized jars. Add 1 tablespoon dill seed to each pint and pour hot syrup over pickles. Seal.

Recipe Notes

If fresh dill is used, use 2 springs to each pint.

Makes 6 pints

Canning No. 1490

Home Services Department Michigan Consolidated Gas Company

Make kitchen hours a pleasure with an Automatic CP Gas Range.

Toasted Crabmeat Sandwiches

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This recipe for Toasted Crabmeat Sandwiches comes from the Edison Electric Kitchen. I found the recipe card in the Red Plastic Box recipe collection I found at an estate sale a couple of years ago.

toasted crabmeat sandwiches from edison electric kitchen

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Toasted Crabmeat Sandwiches

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup crabmeat flaked
  • 3 hard-cooked eggs
  • 1 teaspoon onion miced
  • 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
  • paprika
  • 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup cheese grated
  • 6 slices bread

Instructions

  1. Mix crabmeat, eggs, onion, worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper into a paste.
  2. Toast one side of bread slices.
  3. Spread crabmeat over untoasted side of bread.
  4. Sprinkle with grated cheese; sprinkle paprika on top.
  5. Broil 4 inches from unit until cheese has melted and lightly browned. Serve at once.

Recipe Notes

L-5 (the flip side of this is Cheese toastwich.) Taste tested recipes from the Edison Electric Kitchen

Tomato Catsup

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This handwritten recipe for Tomato Catsup comes from the Red Plastic Recipe Box collection that I got at an estate sale a few years ago. This sounds like a great way to use up the oodles of tomatoes growing in the garden this summer.

handwritten tomato catsup recipe

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Tomato Catsup

Ingredients

  • 1/2 bushel tomatoes
  • 6 large onions
  • 4 red peppers finely chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 2 teaspoons stick cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon whole allspice
  • 1 nutmeg
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1 1/2 quarts white vinegar

Instructions

  1. Take a large kettle.
  2. Wash and slice tomaotes and let simmer.
  3. Put through food chopped oions and pepper.
  4. Add to the tomatoes, then spice, vinegar, salt, and sugar. Boil slowly for two hours. Stirring often.
  5. Shove through sieve.
  6. Put back to boil and boil till thick.
  7. Put into bottles.