Special Collections staff-picked recipes

Recently digitized from an large collection of archival publications on agriculture, the Special Collections Research Center presents a small collection of cookbooks originally created by North Carolina Extension homemaker clubs.  Included is the Holiday House Cook Book (1968), "An Exhibit of Christmas Ideas," of the McDowell County Extension Homemakers Clubs.  To end the year, the Special Collections staff would like to share with you selections from this and other cookbooks in the collection.  They aren't necessarily recipes we have made (although some of us have), just ones that caught our attention.  Some are nostalgic, some a newly discovered find.  Some sound delicious, some not-so-much.  All are entertaining!

From the Holiday House Cook Book

Selected by Clara Wilson.  She says "I'd like to submit this recipe for Tutti Frutti Freeze. I was drawn to this recipe because the name sounds fun and it sounds like it'd be an . . . interesting eating experience!"

Under the Sea Salad

Selected by Victor Betts.  He says "This recipe caught my eye for its curious name and for all the reasons you would NOT want to eat it! What is exactly under the sea about cream cheese, pears, and ginger? I'm just fascinated with the middle class American obsession with Jell-O gelatin recipes during this time period and even all the way into the 1990s. I always think to myself, 'Who comes up with these recipes?' Better yet, 'Who would eat this?' I definitely don't want salt, cream cheese, or ginger in my Jell-O."  [Editor's note:  This may be THE classic Jell-O recipe, dating back to at least 1930.  I believe I have eaten this before, years ago and in family settings.  I'm not sure I remember much about it, but I don't remember it being bad.  I think it depends on what you grew up with as a child.]

Bubbling Fish Bake

Keeping with the ocean theme, so to speak, Shelly Black selected a recipe that she then made herself!  She says  "I selected this no-fuss recipe for its name, then realized it's a tuna casserole, which I hadn't made before. It was yummy, but next time I'll be tempted to add a fresh veggie or try another kind of cheese."  [Editor's note:  I agree with Shelly that this is one of the infinite variations on tuna noodle casserole, a classic in twentieth-century American cooking. I like where she is going with vegetable additions--I'd probably include chopped red and green bell peppers.]

 

Coffee Ice Cream Punch

 

Selected by Cathy Dorin-Black and Brian Dietz, who are just two of Special Collections many coffee enthusiasts.  Cathy says "Coffee Ice Cream Punch is my pick!  I think the flavors would meld really well together, particularly the bitterness of the coffee would counteract the sweetness of the chocolate ice cream and whipped cream."

 

Brian says "I'm eager to try this out, especially with the family. I love coffee ice cream, but I'm pretty much alone in that regard in my household. My chances to have it are mostly limited to outings to ice cream shops . . . where I'm usually tempted by things, unlike coffee ice cream, that you can't get in stores. But I do have a couple of iced coffee and specialty coffee drinkers in my house, and I think this will appeal to (almost) everyone. The use of chocolate ice cream, which the recipe calls for, will likely help."

 

Frosted Strawberry Salad

 

Cathy also picked this recipe, but for completely different reasons than her pick of coffee ice cream punch.  She says "this one sounds particularly bizarre and revolting (too sweet and just, weird!)."

From Other Cookbooks

North Carolina Snow Cream

 

Selected by Taylor Wolford.  She says "I like this recipe [in From North Carolina Kitchens, 1956)] because I've never tried making ice cream out of snow, and it seems like a fun activity to try out during the next snow day. I also think it seems a little ridiculous considering how little snow most of North Carolina gets each winter, but I love the thought behind it."  [Editor's note:  I grew up in the north and had never heard of anything like this until moving to NC.  I remember eating snow as a kid, but just plain without the cream, sugar, and flavoring.  I'm not sure I'd recommend eating snow today, even with the additions!]

 

Apple Bread

Phillip MacDonald selected a recipe from  the same 1956 cookbook.  He says "I chose this recipe because I grew up with my mom making something similar. I'm the only person in my family born in NC, which confirms my speculation that this is a borrowed recipe.  Probably from some neighbors in Greenville, NC. It is one of my mom's favorite recipes, and I always ask her for it. Now, I have something like the original recipe."

Sweet Potato Marshmallow Casserole and the Cranberry Salad

Continuing with this 1956 cookbooks are Sandra Varry's selections.  She says "Sweet Potato Marshmallow Casserole and the Cranberry Salad have been made by my grandmother, mother, myself, and now my niece for the holidays. My mother's family is most recently from northwestern Georgia. After a bit of a few years break, I made Cranberry Salad (minus the gelatin), used half for Thanksgiving and froze the rest for Christmas like we had always done."

Hushpuppies

 

Selected by Laura Abraham from Facts and Recipes for Corn Meal and Grits (1952).  She says "When I think of NC food, I think of hushpuppies!"

 

Ice Cream Tree

 

Selected by this blog post's editor, Todd Kosmerick, from the NC Extension Homemakers newsletter Green 'n' Growing, vol. 5, no. 12 (Dec. 1959): "What can I say about ice cream tree?  Presentation is everything!  This is soooo 1950s!  Too bad the photo isn't in color.  I'm imagining the food coloring on the coconut would render this a pastel green.  I wonder how this would turn out if you leave out the tinting and use some of the wonderful flavors currently available for NC State's Howling Cow ice cream!"

 

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If you would like to learn more about the Special Collection Research Center and our more than 150,000 resources of digitized materials, please visit the Rare and Unique Digital Collections for access to images, video, audio recordings, and textual materials. You can also visit Historical State for timelines on the history of NC State, and explore our collection guides.

NC State University is on Winter Break from 15 December 2022 to 9 January 2023, but the library buildings are open during a portion of that time.  During normal hours, the Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only, but the Center will be closed 23 December 2022 through 9 January 2023.