Read an Excerpt
Tales of Texas Cooking: Stories and Recipes from the Trans Pecos to the Piney Woods and High Plains to the Gulf Prairies
By Frances B. Vick University of North Texas Press
Copyright © 2015 Texas Folklore Society
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-57441-628-2
CHAPTER 1
Stories and Recipes from The Piney Woods
Most of this area of some 16 million acres, ranges from about 50 to 780 feet above sea level and receives 40 to 56 inches of rain yearly. Many rivers, creeks, and bayous drain the region. Nearly all of Texas' commercial timber comes from this area. There are three native species of pine, the principal timber: longleaf, shortleaf, and loblolly. Hardwoods include oaks, elm, hickory, magnolia, sweet and black gum, tupelo, and others.
The area is interspersed with native and improved grasslands. Cattle are the primary grazing animals. Deer and quail are abundant in properly managed habitats. Primary forage plants, under proper grazing management, include species of bluestems, rossettegrass, panicums, paspaiums, blackseed needlegrass, Canada and Virginia wildryes, purpletop, broadleaf and spike woodoats, switchcane, lovegrasses, indiangrass, and numerous legume species.
Highly disturbed areas have understory and overstory of undesirable woody plants that suppress growth of pine and desirable grasses. ... Grasslands have been invaded by threeawns, annual grasses, weeds, broomsedge bluestem, red lovegrass, and shrubby woody species.
FAMILY RECIPE FROM CHARLES S. TAYLOR
by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
* * *
Charles Stanfield Taylor was born in 1808 in England, orphaned at an early age, and raised and educated in law by his uncle. When he came of age, he took his inheritance and came to America, landing in New York and sailing shortly thereafter to Louisiana. In 1828 he bought a horse in Natchitoches to ride to Nacogdoches, a journey of about one hundred miles. The horse died on the journey and he walked into Nacogdoches carrying his bags. He stayed at the Adolphus Sterne boarding house and began exploring opportunities in this new territory that was still part of Mexico. In June of that year, Eva Sterne's sister, Anna Mary, visited from Louisiana and met Charles at the Sterne home. Two years later, Charles and Anna Mary were married in the Sternes' parlor. ... He joined Thomas Rusk, Sam Houston and many other Texans to protest heavy taxes by the Mexican government. When delegates were elected to the Texas Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos to write a declaration of independence, Rusk and Charles S. Taylor were elected from Nacogdoches....
During the Runaway Scrape, while Charles and Thomas Rusk were at the convention, Anna Mary packed up her three living children and fought the elements with her friend Polly Rusk and her children and many others hoping to reach Louisiana. All three Taylor girls died within days of each other and were buried in Natchitoches....
Anna Mary and Charles later reunited in Nacogdoches to rebuild their family and bolster their young country. ... The Taylors had nine more children between 1837 and 1853, when the last, my great-grandmother Anna Mary Taylor, was born. After the tragedy of 1836, when they lost all their children, their indomitable spirit was rewarded. Each of the nine later children lived to adulthood.
Julia Curl, daughter of Charles S. Taylor, handed down the following recipe to her descendants. With it came her eyewitness account of festive occasions in their family home in Nacogdoches. The state's first Senators, General Sam Houston and Thomas Rusk, were often guests, as well as others who arrived by wagon and buggy from miles away. Writing to Robert Irion in 1838, Taylor described the informal get-togethers, called "drop ins," where a few friends would meet: "a fiddle is sent for — the dance commences and is kept up for 3 or 4 hours — hilarity prevails, Judge Jeff tells some of his amusing stories, a cold snack is provided, with plenty of the requisite to wash it down." Charles S. Taylor and Thomas Rusk, whose seat in the Senate I held from 1993–2013, were friends and business partners.
My aunt Lucette Sharp, our family historian, passed this recipe on to me.
Charles S. Taylor Family Cake
¾ cup shortening (I add extra shortening for moisture)
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs beaten
1¾ cups sifted flour (I use unbleached flour)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup sour milk (add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to fresh milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla (or 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon lemon
extract)
1 cup coarsely cut roasted nuts
Cream shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and beat thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with sour milk. Add vanilla extract. Fold in nuts.
(To roast chopped nuts, place in a shallow pan and heat in a slow oven, 325 degrees, about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.)
Stir mixture frequently. Pour batter into a square or round greased pan or into a cupcake pan. Bake at 325 degrees about 30–35 minutes.
This is an old-fashioned tea cake. Though the original recipe does not call for icing, I add cream cheese frosting.
RECIPES FROM SAM HOUSTON
by Jane Monday
* * *
Often when General Sam Houston was home, his Indian friends would visit the Woodlands. The Cherokees, in particular, liked to camp on the grounds of the Houston farm when they were traveling. Sometimes before leaving Washington, Houston would send word to the Indians giving them his arrival date and inviting them for a visit. At the same time, he would write and tell Margaret to expect them, and she would send Joshua to town to get extra supplies. Joshua was never surprised by the Indians' arrival if the wind was blowing from the north, because the old gray mule in the corral would snort and jump and nearly tear up the place about an hour before they arrived. When that happened, Joshua would tell Margaret so she could have Eliza and the other servants already cooking by the time the Indians would ride up. Then everyone would be seated on the back lawn, with the General and the Chief in the center of the circle. Eliza and the others would serve the feast, with baked beef ribs often being the main dish. The stripped bones were placed in a dishpan in the center of the circle after each person finished eating.*
Sam's Famous Barbecue Sauce
3 tablespoons cooking oil
¼ cup onion, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup catsup
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons paprika
1½ teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons water
Heat the cooking oil in a large heavy cast iron skillet. Add the onions and the garlic. Sauté this lightly. Stir in the catsup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, white vinegar, hot pepper sauce, sugar, paprika, chili powder and salt. Blend together thoroughly the dry mustard and the water until smooth. Then stir this into the sauce. Slowly bring this mixture to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Makes 2 cups. Sam used this spicy concoction both as a marinade and a basting sauce for his barbecued steaks, chops and chicken.
Koo Wes Koo We's Bread and Buttermolasses Pudding
Koo Wes Koo We was the Indian name of John Ross, a Cherokee chief born in Georgia in 1790, who fought with Sam Houston at Horseshoe Bend. He became principal chief of the Cherokee nation in 1828, and from the very beginning was an efficient champion of their rights against the encroachments and cupidity of the white man. When the Civil War broke out, the Cherokees joined the Confederacy over the protests of Ross.
8 slices stale bread cubed
1 cup seedless raisins
2 eggs
½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons molasses
3 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 ½ cups milk
Cover the bottom of a well-buttered baking pan with all of the stale bread cubes. Then stir in the raisins. Beat the eggs, salt, molasses and sugar together. Melt the butter in the scalded milk. Stir this into the egg mixture and blend thoroughly. Pour over the stale bread cubes. Place the baking pan in another pan of hot water and bake in a moderate oven (350°) for one hour, or until the pudding is firm to the touch. This pudding should be served with whipped cream. It will feed 6 people.
RECIPES FROM BOARDIN' IN THE THICKET
by Wanda Landrey
***
KOUNTZE: THE COMMERCIAL HOTEL
Red-Eye Gravy
According to George Leonard and Bertha E. Herter's Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes, red-eye gravy, an old Southern favorite, got its name from General Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States. One day, while Old Hickory was still a general, he sat down to have his noon meal and called his cook over to tell him what to prepare. The cook had been drinking white mule (Southern moonshine corn whiskey) the night before, and his eyes were as red as fire. General Jackson, never a man to mince words, told the cook to bring him some country ham with gravy as red as his eyes. Some men nearby heard the general, and ham gravy became red-eye gravy from that day on.
Take a large frying pan, put a heaping tablespoon of lard into the pan, and melt it. When melted, put in slices of ham and fry them until well done. Add 1 cup of water and 1 crushed clove. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the ham and serve some gravy with the ham.
Beef Tea
Grandma Bradley was well-known for her kindness to scores of down-and-out folks who came her way. She had a special recipe for beef tea, or extracta, that was guaranteed to help anybody feel better, no matter how serious the ailment. In fact, if she got there in time, even death-bed confessions sometimes had to be postponed because of the miraculous recovery of the sick. Ruby Herrington, who gave me Grandma's recipe, told me that her father had actually been saved by Grandma Bradley's beef tea.
She would select a good lean piece of beef, put it into a jar without water, and seal the jar. She would then place the sealed container in a pot of boiling water and cook the meat until most of the juice had been extracted.
I tried this using a shank cross-cut of beef and observed that it does taste a lot better than the beef bouillon available today.
SOUR LAKE: THE SPRINGS HOTEL RESORT
Sour Lake resident Jessie Lea Mowbray told me that her father, Preston Mowbray, was an avid hunter in the late 1800s and supplied the Springs with most of its wild game. "Once," said Jessie, "my father killed enough ducks and geese to make five feather mattresses. At that time a lot of people in a small community cooked alike," Jessie continued. "It was the way one was taught — by word of mouth."
Since wild game hunters are often the best wild game cooks, the following recipes, which were Preston Mowbray's favorites, may have been used at the Springs.
PAN-FRIED VENISON
1 venison backstrap
minced garlic to taste
salt and pepper to taste
egg, milk and flour batter
¾ cup shortening
Slice the backstrap thin and rub each slice with minced garlic. Beat on both sides to tenderize. Season generously with salt and pepper. Dip in well-beaten egg and milk batter, then flour. Melt the shortening in an iron skillet and fry floured meat rapidly over high heat, turning once, until browned on both sides. Make gravy from the pan drippings.
Dried Venison
Cut venison into chunks. Mix 2 cups coarse salt, ½cup coarse ground pepper, and 2 teaspoons saltpeter. Rub chunks with seasonings and put in a crock bowl. Let stand at least 24 hours. String each chunk and dip in boiling water until meat turns white. Hang up and smoke. When dry, venison is ready to serve.
Bear Meat
Bear meat from the Thicket, especially from an old bruin, was tough and required special treatment in its preparation. To tenderize the meat before cooking, it had to be well-seasoned with salt and pepper and boiled in water or soaked in a marinade for at least 24 hours.
Marinade (for a 6 lb. roast):
2 cups water
1 cup vinegar
½ cup olive oil
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon sage
¼ teaspoon allspice
6 cloves
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon red pepper
½ teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped onions
Boil all ingredients 3 minutes then cool to room temperature before placing meat in the marinade.
Remove meat from marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Place meat in roaster and cover with 2 sliced onions. Cover roasting pan and bake in a slow oven (30 minutes per lb). Add water if necessary.
SOUTHEAST TEXAS: THE HARVEY HOUSES
No matter how unpredictable the schedules or how uncomfortable the ride might have been on the Santa Fe, one thing that was always good was the dining car. As part of the Fred Harvey Company, the dining cars were operated under a contract agreement with the Santa Fe and were often able to afford the traveler with a bright spot in an otherwise dismal journey.
Traveling from Houston to Dallas, the highlight of the trip was eating lunch in the diner. It was expensive fare, but the pleasure from feeling sophisticated in posh surroundings made it worth every penny. Attentive waiters attired in crisp white dinner jackets served delicious food on lovely china plates. In addition, the spotless tablecloths and napkins, the silver flatware, the serving pieces, along with the crystal glasses, inspired the traveler to display his best table manners....
From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, in addition to operating the diners, the Fred Harvey Company also ran the Harvey Houses, which were located approximately every 100 miles along the railroad line. These included lunchrooms and restaurants, news and concession stands, hotel rooms, and other accommodations. Everything portable belonged to the company, including dishes, cooking utensils, linens, and furniture. No matter what size an individual Harvey House was, each had the reputation for consistently providing unusually good food and good service. And if those were not enough to lift the spirits of even the weariest traveler, the neat and attractive young Harvey House waitresses were. Although some people considered them to be bold and risqué, the girls were generally well-bred, well-educated, and personable — the forerunners of today's airline stewardesses. Working for Fred Harvey gave these adventuresome young ladies the opportunity to see the country at the railroad's expense because they were issued free passes and given free meal tickets when traveling.
I was surprised to learn that there had once been a very large and elaborate Harvey House in Silsbee. Of course, during the early 1900s Silsbee was a busy railroad terminal on the Santa Fe Line. The business was completely equipped with a lunchroom, a restaurant, and a basement with a barbershop and a poolroom. After it burned in 1920, it was replaced by a smaller lunchroom, which provided service until it closed in 1926....
According to Mr. Otis Thomas, who was manager of the Galveston Harvey House from 1929 to 1936, the food throughout the system was consistently good because the officials at the main office in Kansas City, Missouri, controlled its operation by a centralized form of strict management. It was there that all final decisions were made, all the choice meats were selected and shipped in ice, and all the managers and chefs were trained. Managers were issued a manual of recipes and instructions that explained every detail of food preparation, from the heating of the serving plates to the garnishing of special dishes. By frequently visiting each establishment along the line, Fred Harvey officials kept watch over the whole operation.
I couldn't believe my good fortune when I discovered that Mr. Thomas had saved his instruction book from Galveston and graciously agreed to allow me to use it. After checking several other sources, I decided this may be the only book of original Harvey House recipes around today, and therefore, a real treasure. I have tried many of the recipes, and so far I haven't found a bad one in the lot.
Mayonnaise
Harvey House restaurants were known for making their own delicious salad dressings. After trying several of the ones listed in the chef's manual, I selected this tart mayonnaise recipe. It's easy to prepare and its distinct flavor makes it different from anything you can buy.
2 eggs
1 tablespoon dry mustard
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups salad oil
3 tablespoons boiling water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Put eggs into mixing bowl. Add the next 5 ingredients. Mix until thoroughly blended. Slowly add salad oil. When mayonnaise thickens, add boiling water and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly.
Corned Beef Hash and Eggs
Many recipes in the chef's cooking manual contained additional instructions and comments from the central office, such as the following:
This is a nice dish, not only for breakfast but very appropriate for the noonday bill. In fact, not objectionable for service throughout the twenty-four hours of the day.
We have had this on trial at two or three of the houses with very favorable reports, and if you see that it is made according to above, it should be very good. Do not permit any guessing. As a matter of fact, our cooks do too much guessing as to quantities, and, in my opinion, there is no reason why our cooks should not be as careful in compounding foods as a druggist is in compounding his medicine. I say this with all respect for the discriminating taste which we all recognize as being also most important, but I am giving you the exact amounts for the benefit of those who are lacking in tastes.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Tales of Texas Cooking: Stories and Recipes from the Trans Pecos to the Piney Woods and High Plains to the Gulf Prairies by Frances B. Vick. Copyright © 2015 Texas Folklore Society. Excerpted by permission of University of North Texas Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
