Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Eggs Everywhere-- from Hell to Wreaths!

It's December, time to say goodbye to our companion for the year, The Chamberlain Calendar of American Cooking (Narcisse and Narcissa Chamberlain, 1957).

Now that it's cold out, the Chamberlains suggest going to hell.


Eggs in Hell should get you off to a nice and toasty start! Plus, the picture implies that cowboys would approve, so if you're hungry for cowboy approval along with your eggs, veggies, and "meat extract," then you're all set.

If Eggs in Hell sounds a little too blasphemous for Christmastime, the book also offers Christmas Wreath Cookies.


The fun thing about these orange-scented sugar cookies is that once they're cut with a doughnut cutter, they're topped with meringue, green sugar, and cinnamon candies. When they come out of the oven, they'll look like wreaths with holly-- no additional decorating required! Note too that this has instructions for making your own green sugar. Decorators' sugar must not have been widely available in the '50s, so it was strictly do-it-yourself.

As I say goodbye to The Chamberlain Calendar of American Cooking, I thank it for reminding me how lucky I am that my red, green, and yellow sugars are patiently waiting for me to get them out of storage for my annual baking spree. I even like that the book took me to hell, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I was led to believe. Now I just have to pick a lucky contender for my monthly cookbook next year...

5 comments:

  1. Meat extract sounds like some form of Hell. I also like the cookies that need no additional decoration. Granted, you decorate them before baking. That's why I like making graham crackers, you sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on them before baking and they are done.

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    1. I think meat extract is kind of like concentrated bouillon, so it's probably not so bad.

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  2. Apparently meat extract is stuff like Bovril - but MAN, is the phrasing gross. Otherwise, Eggs in Hell sounds pretty good, tbh. So do the Christmas cookies! A good ending for a bad year.

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  3. But the cookies don't even have applesauce and whole wheat flour! Not sure why you'd want to bother.

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