Woo hoo! It's June! It is still June, right? The month always makes me I feel like it's already half over by the time we hit the first day, for some reason-- probably because it's usually the first month with consistently pretty nice weather. There's also the lingering memory of the sense of impending doom I always had at the beginning of summer vacation as a child, knowing that it would be over and I'd be back at the mercy of the school bullies so soon that every minute of June seemed precious.... But I'm getting off topic here. The calendar says June is not, in fact, over, but just beginning, so that means it's time for The Chamberlain Calendar of American Cooking (Narcisse and Narcissa Chamberlain, 1957).
I have to admit that the recipes in this chapter do not help dispel the feeling that summer goes by too quickly. While many people think of lobster rolls in summer, this calendar goes a different direction with lobster.
To the Chamberlains, June calls for a big old pot of Lobster Stew! It's hard for me to think of summer weather as calling for steaming bowls full of dairy and seafood, so the recipe puts me more in mind of brisk fall days.
June is also traditionally wedding month, so maybe a wedding cake recipe will help June feel June-y.
Nope! Iris Morey's Wedding Cake is "the proper kind of wedding cake, an old-fashioned, 12-egg fruit cake." That means molasses, warm spices, pounds and pounds of dried and candied fruits, six hours of baking time (three with steam, and three without), plus a brandy soak. In short, it's going to taste like Christmas and heat up the house. (Plus, the cake is better when left to age for six weeks, so if you wait until June to make it for a June wedding, you've waited too long! The month really is too short.)
At least June offers one recipe that feels suitably summery to me.
Open Blueberry Pie! The filling is super easy-- just fresh blueberries coated with raspberry jelly. I'm used to blueberry pies with well-cooked filling, but I can't imagine the berries get all that cooked in the brief five-minute warming before serving. The idea is intriguing to me since I prefer raw berries-- although I imagine the filling as being the type that just spills everywhere the second a slice is removed.
I guess that makes it a good symbol for the month-- once you've lost even a minute of June, it's a quick and chaotic slide to pie plate filled with nothing but berry smears and sweet memories.
I'm imagining the lobster stew being made outside. They should have given you the wedding cake recipe 2 months ago so you could plan. It makes sense to bake a cake a few weeks ahead (if it is still cool out then) for a summer wedding. Who cares if it is fresh? The blueberry pie is intriguing. You could really make it summer friendly by using pre-baked pie shells, and melting the water and jelly in a saucepan to mix with the berries. I imagine it would work about the same.
ReplyDeleteFruitcakes are supposed to get better with age, so freshness does not seem to be a criteria for them-- which would help for summer planning, as you note. Not to mention all the 1000 other details people tend to worry about...
DeleteThe pie really does sound kind of good to me-- especially with your method. I'm just not a cooked fruit fan.
It may not be what we want, but this cookbook seems to have actual foods, with actual flavors made from actual ingredients. And pretty darn authentic, if that's what they're calling a wedding cake.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely true-- on all counts.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy mother always made fresh blueberry pie. Not with raspberry jam though. She made a quick blueberry jam. It's very good, but maybe not if you aren't used to it? It's not as sweet as baked pie.
ReplyDelete"Not as sweet" sounds good. I used to get annoyed with people who would complain that dessert was "too sweet," (It's dessert! It's SUPPOSED to be sweet!) but I am slowly becoming one of them....
Delete