My Favorite Early American Holiday Recipes

My Fave Unusual Holiday Recipes- As I got older, and became a better cook, I started adding some old early American recipes I stumbled on. These three I use every year. I found the first two in magazine articles years ago. The third online.  I serve the Queen's cake every Christmas morning, with eggs, juice hot drinks, for a simple, but tasty breakfast. I LOVE the citrusy flavor!!! Bake the cake the day before, however, as it's better after it cools. I make the Indian Pudding for Thanksgiving, but I cut the recipe in half, as it's rich, but yummy! I make the Marlborough pie for Christmas, along with my mince pie. Here's the recipes, with links-

WILLIAMSBURG QUEEN'S CAKE-

1 cup unsalted butter- room temp
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 teaspoons orange extract
2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cup currants

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. add lemon and orange extracts; mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, and cinnamon together. Gradually add to the batter, stirring well after each addition. Toss the currants with 1 Tablespoon additional flour; add to the batter. Bake in greased and floured loaf pan at 325° F for 1 hour, 20 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a rack.

http://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Raleigh-Tavern-Bake-Shop/dp/0879351063

Marlborough  Pie-

·                        Juice 1 lemon

·                        2 large fresh apples

·                        ¾ cup sugar

·                        ¾ cup sherry

·                        6 TBL. melted butter

·                        4 eggs well beaten

·                        1/2 cup heavy cream

·                        2 teas. Nutmeg- I use fresh

·                        Pinch salt

Squeeze lemon. Chop apples, add lemon juice, stew and mix. Puree, rice or mash apples Add sugar,  sherry, eggs, cream, nutmeg, butter. Pour into 8” pie pan and use 1 pie crust or puff pastry. Bake at 350 about 1 hour until set. Cool before serving. Looks similar to pumpkin pie.

 http://www.amazon.com/Old-Sturbridge-Village-Cookbook-3rd/dp/0762749296

Indian Pudding-

• 6 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 cup golden raisins (optional)
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

1 Scald the milk and butter in a large double boiler. Or heat the milk and butter for 5 or 6 minutes on high heat in the microwave, until it is boiling, then transfer it to a pot on the stove. Keep hot on medium heat.
2 Preheat oven to 250°F.
3 In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, and salt; stir in molasses. Thin the mixture with about 1/2 cup of scalded milk, a few tablespoons at a time, then gradually add the mixture back to the large pot of scalded milk. Cook, stirring until thickened.
4 Temper the eggs by slowly adding a half cup of the hot milk cornmeal mixture to the beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture back in with the hot milk cornmeal mixture, stir to combine. Stir in the sugar and spices, until smooth. At this point, if the mixture is clumpy, you can run it through a blender to smooth it out. Stir in the raisins (optional). Pour into a 2 1/2 quart shallow casserole dish. Bake for 2 hours at 250°F.
5 Allow the pudding to cool about an hour to be at its best. It should be reheated to warm temperature if it has been chilled. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Yield: Serves 8-10.


http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/indian_pudding/