Vintage Thanksgiving Menu - 25 years ago!
November 23rd, 2006 by Tink Boord-Dill
As many of you know, I LOVE vintage cookbooks. I also enjoy vintage cooking magazines. I recently scored a copy of the November 1981 Gourmet Magazine. I was trying to decide how I was going to use the recipes, when I realised that this was the 25 anniversary of its printing.
I decided to share the menu and recipes from that issue here. Now that I have a plan, keep an eye out for more of these vintage menus! Next time, I’ll be more organized and post them in time for y’all to use them, if you wish!
The menu consisted of: Celery and Oyster Soup, Cranberry, Chestnut, and Apple Salad with Lime Dressing, Braised Pheasant, Pecan Cornbread Stuffing made with Herbed Cornbread, Creamed Onions in a lovely Mornay Sauce, Green Beans in Lemon Butter, Scalloped Yams, and for the BIG Finale, Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie! The recipes serve eight.
As a bonus, instructions are included for *How to Roast Chestnuts* either in an oven or over a fire!
We always do poultry for Christmas, so I am half expecting that one or more of these dishes might show up on our dining table in a month! LOLOL
*****
November 1981 Gourmet Magazine - Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu Celery and Oyster Soup - Serves eight |
| Warm, creamy oyster soup, ramped up with leeks and celery. |
| Ingredients |
| 32 oysters, in shell two bunches of celery 1 cup sliced leek 1 t ground celery seed 6T unsalted butter 6 cups chicken stock 1 cup heavy cream a pinch of cayenne |
| Step by Step |
| 1) Shuck 32 oysters, reserving the liquor 2) Remove the outer stalk from two bunches of celery, reserving them for another use. 3) Slice enough of the inner stalks to measure six cups, reserving the pale innermost leaves 4) Slice one cups worth of well washed leek 5) In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sliced celery and the leek with 1 teaspoon ground celery seed, 6T unsalted butter. 6) Cook over low heat, stirring for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are softened 7) Add 6 cups chicken stock. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer the mixture for 45 minutes 8) Purée the mixture through the fine disc of a food mill into a large saucepan. 9) Add 1 cup heavy cream and bring the mixture to a simmer 10) Add the oysters in the reserve liquor and simmer the soup over moderately low heat, stirring for three to five minutes or until the edges of the oysters begin to curl and the soup is heated through. 11) Ladle the soup into heated bowls. 12) Sprinkle each serving with a pinch of cayenne and garnish it with a pinch of the reserve celery leaves minced. 13) Serve and Enjoy! |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu CRANBERRY, CHESTNUT, AND APPLE SALAD WITH LIME DRESSING - Serves eight |
| Looking for something different in the way of salad? Here it is… with the Cranberries providing a reference to traditional Thanksgiving flavors! |
| Ingredients |
| 1 1/2 cups cranberries 3 T sugar 1 cup chestnuts 1/4 cup lime juice 2 t lime mustard or Dijon style mustard 3/4 t salt 2/3 to 2 cup olive oil 3 Granny Smith apples 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion two bunches of watercress 1 t finely grated lime rind |
| Step by Step |
| 1) With a stainless steel knife, coarsely chop 1 1/2 cups cranberries in a small bowl 2) Toss them with 3 T sugar or to taste and let them stand covered and chill for at least one hour or overnight. 3) Roast 1 cup chestnuts and shell and peel them while they’re hot (See instructions below) 4) In a large ceramic or glass bowl, combine 1/4 cup lime juice, 2 teaspoons lime mustard or Dijon style mustard and 3/4 t salt. 5) Add 2/3 to 1 cup olive oil or to taste in a stream, beating, and beat the dressing until it is combined well. 6) Add 3 Granny Smith apples cored and cut into bite size pieces, the chestnuts, quartered, and 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion. 7) Toss the mixture and let it marinate covered and chilled for a least one hour but not more than four hours 8) Line a glass salad bowl with two bunches of watercress, course stems removed. 9) Arrange the apple mixture around the edge of the bowl with the cranberries in the center and sprinkle them with 1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind. 10) Serve and Enjoy! |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu HOW TO ROAST CHESTNUTS |
| Chestnuts roasting on an open fire….Here is how to do it! |
| Step by Step |
| 1) With a sharp knife cut an X on the rounded side of the chestnuts. 2) To roast the chestnuts in an oven, put them cut sides up in a baking pan and roast uncovered in a preheated hot oven (425 F) sprinkling them with three to four tablespoons of water every 15 minutes for one hour 3) To roast the chestnuts in a fireplace, put them in a chestnut skillet (a long handle skillet with holes in the bottom available kitchenware shops) and put the skillet over hot coals shaking occasionally for one hour |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu Braised Pheasant - Serves eight |
| This is an interesting twist on the Thanksgiving tradition of serving poultry. |
| Ingredients |
| 4 2 1/2lb domestic pheasants (each bird will serve two) 2 1/4 cup chicken stock one small onion one bay leaf salt pepper unsalted butter 1/2 cup gin 1/2 cup Tawny Port 1/2 t juniper berries 3 T unsalted butter 1/4 cup flour |
| Step by Step |
| Preheat oven to 400 F 1) Remove the backbones from four to one half pound domestic pheasants, using a sharp knife or poultry shears 2) Reserving the backbones and the giblets 3) Turn each pheasant skin side up and press on the breastbone with the heel of the hand to loosen it 4) Turn the pheasant skin side down, pull out the breastbone spit out the ribs and reserve them 5) With a large sharp knife halve the pheasants lengthwise 6) In a saucepan combine the reserved bones and the giblets excluding the liver. 7) Add 1 cup chicken stock, one small onion halved and one bay leaf. Add enough cold water to cover the mixture by 2 inches 8) Bring the liquid to a boil skimming the froth throughout as it rises to the surface. Simmer the stock for one hour. 9) Strain the stock through a fine sieve into another saucepan, pressing hard on the solids and reserve it. 10) Rinse the pheasants under running cold water, pat them dry, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper 11) Arrange the pheasants skin side up in one layer in a lightly oiled large roasting pan. 12) Rub them generously with unsalted butter and brown them in a preheated oven (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes 13) Add 1 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1/2 cup each gin and Tawny Port, 1/2 t juniper berries crushed lightly. 14) Reduce the heat to moderate (350 F) and raise the pheasants cover tightly with heavy-duty foil for 30 minutes. 15) Transfer the pheasants to platters and keep them warm 16) Skim the fat from the pan juices reserving 2/3 cup for the Pecan Cornbread Stuffing and reduce the juices over high heat to about 1 cup, scraping up the brown bits clinging to the bottom and sides 17) Add the juices to the reserved stock and heat the mixture over moderate heat until hot 18) In a saucepan melt 3 T unsalted butter. Stir in 1/4 cup flour and cook the roux over low heat stirring for three minutes 19) Remove the pan from the heat. Add the stock mixture in a stream whisking vigorously. Cook the sauce, whisking until it’s thick and smooth 20) Season the sauce with Tawny Port, salt, and pepper and transfer to heated sauce boat or serving bowl 21) Garnish the pheasant with sprigs of watercress and serve it with the sauce. 22) Serve and Enjoy! |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu Pecan Cornbread Stuffing - Serves eight |
| Cornbread Stuffing is my personal fav… and I have fond memories of the huge pecan tree in our side yard when I lived in South Carolina! |
| Ingredients |
| 1 recipe of Herbed Cornbread 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 2 T unsalted butter 1 T oil 1 cup thinly sliced celery 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans 1/2 cup chicken stock 2/3 cup pan juices from the braised pheasant |
| Step by Step |
| Day Before 1) Make Herbed Cornbread (see recipe below), one day in advance of making stuffing. 2) Coarsely crumble cornbread into a jelly roll pan. Cover loosely and let stand overnight |
| Thanksgiving or Day of Meal Preheat oven 350 F 1) In a skillet, cook 1 1/2 cups chopped onion in 2 T unsalted butter, and 1 T oil over moderately low heat, stirring until it’s softened 2) Add 1 cup each of thinly sliced celery and coarsely chopped pecans and cook the mixture stirring until the celery is softened slightly. 3) In a bowl, combine the cornbread, the onion mixture and 1/2 cup chicken stock. 4) Transfer stuffing into a baking dish and bake it covered in a preheated moderate oven (350 F)for 15 minutes 5) Spoon 1/3 cup pan juices from the braised pheasant over the stuffing and bake the stuffing uncovered for 10 minutes more 6) Spoon 1/4 - 1/3 cup more pan juices or to taste over the stuffing and bake the stuffing for five minutes more. 7) Transfer the stuffing to heated serving dish 8) Serve and Enjoy! |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu Herbed Cornbread |
| While this is included to provide the necessary cornbread of the Pecan Cornbread Stuffing recipe, I doubt that anyone will notice if a small slice is tastetested when this comes out of the oven! |
| Ingredients |
| 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 t double acting baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 t baking soda 1 cup buttermilk (See below for substitute) 3 large eggs 3/4 stick (six tablespoons) unsalted butter 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves 1 t crumbled dried sage |
| Step by Step |
| Preheat oven to 375 F 1) In a bowl, sift together 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons double acting baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 t baking soda 2) Add 1 cup buttermilk, 3 large eggs beaten lightly. 3/4 stick (six tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves, and 1 t crumbled dried sage. Stir mixture until it is just combined. The batter should be lumpy 3) Turn the batter into a buttered 8 inch square baking pan and bake it for 35 minutes. Let the cornbread cool in the pan on a rack. HINT - Make this the day before you plan to make Cornbread DressingThis recipe makes enough for 8 servings of Cornbread Dressing. |
| Buttermilk Substitute, or Sour MilkTo EACH 1 cup plain milk, add 2-3 tsp. lemon juice or vinegar. Stir, then mix with remaining ingredients as you would the buttermilk, according to the instructions in the recipe. |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu Creamed Onions - Serves eight |
| The intricate spiciness of small onions, enhanced with a lovely cheese sauce! |
| Ingredients |
| Creamed Onions Ingredients 1/2 lb small white onions 1/2 bay leaf 2 cups Mornay Sauce freshly grated nutmeg |
| Mornay Sauce Ingredients 2 1/2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups warmed milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon white pepper pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional) 2 ounces grated cheese, such as Gruyere |
| Step by Step |
| Creamed Onions Instructions 1) Peel 1/2 lb small white onions 2) In a saucepan, combine onions with 1/2 bay leaf and enough salted cold water to cover them by 2 inches. 3) Bring the water to a boil over moderate heat and simmer the onions for 25 minutes or until they are tender. Drain the onions 4) In another saucepan, combine the onions with 2 cups Mornay sauce and freshly grated nutmeg to taste. Heat the mixture over moderately low heat stirring until it is heated through. 5) Transfer the onion mixture to heated platter. 6) Serve and Enjoy! |
| Mornay Sauce Instructions 1) In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-high heat. 2) Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux is pale yellow and frothy, about 1 minute. Do not allow the roux to brown. 3) Slowly whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil, about 2 to 3 minutes. 4) Reduce the heat to a simmer and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. 5) Allow to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. This is now called a Bechamel Sauce, and may be used as is to top any number of dishes. 6) Stir in the cheese and whisk until melted. If the sauce seems to thick, thin with a little milk. 7) The sauce is now called a Mornay Sauce. Pour over creamed onions and serve immediately. If not using right away, cool, cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several days. 8) Serve and Enjoy! |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu GREEN BEANS IN LEMON BUTTER - Serves eight. |
| A wonderful way to celebrate the goodness of fresh green beans. |
| Ingredients |
| 2 pounds green beans, trimmed one stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter 3 3 x 0.5 inch strips of lemon rind |
| Step by Step |
| 1) In a saucepan of boiling salted water, boil 2 pounds green beans, trimmed for seven to 10 minutes or until they are just tender and strain them in a colander 2) Refresh the beans under running cold water and pat them dry 3) In a small saucepan, melt one stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter over low heat. 4) Add 3 3 x 0.5 inch strips of lemon rind and cook the butter for three minutes, but do not let it color. 5) Discard the lemon rind, return the beans to the saucepan and add the butter and lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. 6) Toss the mixture and transferred to heated platter. 7) Serve and Enjoy! |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu SCALLOPED YAMS - Serves eight. |
| YUM! Who need dessert? |
| Ingredients |
| 4 pounds yams 3 1/2 cups milk salt to taste white pepper to taste 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar |
| Step by Step |
| Preheat oven to 400 F 1) Peel 4 pounds yams or, sweet potatoes and cut crosswise into 1/16″ slices 2) In a heavy saucepan, combine the yams with 3 1/2 cups milk and bring the milk to a boil over moderate heat while stirring 3) Add salt and white pepper to taste. 4) Carefully transfer the mixture to a well buttered 14 inch gratin dish 5) Cover it and bake for 20 minutes 6) Reduce the heat to 350 F and bake the mixture covered for 20 minutes more. 7) Sprinkle the yams with 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar and bake the mixture uncovered for 10 minutes. 8) Serve and Enjoy! |
| TheArmchairChef.com Vintage Thanksgiving Menu PUMPKIN ICE CREAM PIE - Serves eight |
| Who would want a plain, ole Pumpkin Pie when this extravaganza is offered? Not me! LOL |
| Ingredients |
| 3/4 cup plus 2 T sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup pumpkin purée 1 T dark rum 1/4 t ground ginger 1/4 t ground allspice 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup gingersnap crumbs 1/2 cup ground pecans 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar 3/4 of a stick of unsalted butter (6T) 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 1 t honey a pinch of cream of tartar 1 cup heavy cream 3 T sifted confectioners’ sugar |
| Step by Step |
| 1) In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup plus 2 T sugar and 1/2 cup water. 2) Bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. 3) Boil the resulting syrup for six minutes. 4) In a bowl, combine 1 cup pumpkin purée, 1 T dark rum, and 1/4 t each of ground ginger and ground allspice, adding the syrup in a stream, beating and letting the mixture cool. 5) In a chilled bowl, beat 1 cup heavy cream until it holds very soft peaks. 6) Fold it into the pumpkin mixture and chill the mixture for one hour 7) Freeze the mixture in an ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Preheated oven to 325 F 8) In a bowl, combine 1 cup gingersnap crumbs, 1/2 cup ground pecans and 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar. 9) Stir in 3/4 of a stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled. 10) Press the mixture onto the bottom and sides of a slightly buttered 9 inch glass pie plate. 11) Bake the shell for eight minutes or until it is colored slightly but not browned. 12) Let the shell cool on a rack. 13) Spoon the pumpkin ice cream into the shell, smooth the top and freeze the pie wrapped tightly in foil for at least six hours or up to one week 14) Invert a 9 inch round cake pan and oil the bottom with flavorless vegetable oil. 15) In a small heavy skillet, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and 1 t honey. 16) Cook the mixture over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir and wash down any sugar crystals clinging to the side with a brush dipped in cold water. 17) Increase the heat to moderately high and add a pinch of cream of tartar. 18) Cook the syrup while swirling the skillet, without stirring, until the syrup is a pale amber 19) Remove the skillet from the heat and prop it up that the caramel runs to one side. 20) Dip a fork into the caramel and drizzle caramel in a grid like pattern over the oiled pan. 21) Slide the caramel net gently off the pan onto wax paper, while it is still warm and let it harden. 22) In a chilled bowl, beat 1 cup heavy cream until it holds soft peaks. Beat in 3 T sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks. 23) Transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. 24) Arrange the caramel net carefully on the pie and pipe the cream around the edge. 25) Serve and Enjoy! |