Figuring out the secrets of the Episcopal church via 40+-year-old recipes

When I picked up the Trinity Cookbook (Trinity Episcopal Churchwomen, Newark, Ohio, 1976), I realized that this would be my first Episcopal book on the site. It seemed like a great way to figure out what Episcopalians are like based on their recipes.

The appetizers suggest that Episcopalians are always ready to entertain.

They keep a couple pounds of pre-prepared sausage appetizers in the freezer, ready to be heated at a moment's notice!

They also like things sweet. I mean, I see a lot of recipes for Waldorf Salad...

...but most of them are just the apples, nuts, and celery in a mayo-based dressing, not encased in strawberry Jell-O and studded with marshmallows.

Episcopalians expect everybody else to understand their love of sweets too. If you hear the name "Peanut Salad," what's your first thought? People now might think of an Indian or Thai peanut-based salad. People who love old cookbooks are perhaps more likely to think of Pea 'n' Peanut Salad. The thing all these recipes have in common is that they're made with, well, actual peanuts. That's an unwarranted assumption in an Episcopal kitchen, though.

Here, "peanut" refers to circus peanuts! No actual peanuts involved. (And no, this is not a new recipe to the blog, but at least the Catholics whose recipe I featured before warned people that it was Circus Peanut Salad.)

Finally, the Episcopalians are not puritanical teetotalers. 

Boring occasions like commencement should be leavened with Sherry-Rum Cobbler served "in fruit-juice glasses (large size)" as prescribed by the English professor, Professor English.

I guess the okay-with-fun attitude explains why they needed to have pounds of appetizers waiting in the freezer. And maybe all that sugar just helped fuel the party? I'm still working on a unified theory based on these recipes because it's more fun than just Googling Episcopalianism.