Retro Recipes from 

Six Delicious Decades

Over the years, your cooperative publication has been the repository of many fine recipes, ranging from the elegant to the elegantly simple. As we gear up for another season of holiday feasting, we celebrate the onset of our seventh decade of publication by taking a look back at what�s been cooking in Virginia kitchens since your magazine�s inception in 1946. Following is a collection of recipes � pulled from the archives of Cooperative Living and its

predecessors and interspersed with snippets of original editorial � that represents popular foods from six delicious decades.

Have you tried barbecued chicken? If you haven�t, surprise your family with this treat as the main dish for a special dinner. It will add a bright touch of color to the table and will taste just as good as it looks.

Barbecuing the Chicken

From October 1946 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Make the barbecue sauce by blending salt, pepper, paprika, and sugar in saucepan. Add onion, tomato puree or catsup, fat and water. Heat to boiling. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Cut chicken in half or in quarters or disjoint and arrange in baking pan. Brush with hot barbecue sauce. Cover, then bake in moderate oven (350˚ F.) until about half done. Uncover, but continue cooking, basting frequently with the hot barbecue sauce until tender and nicely browned. Total cooking time: 1 to 11⁄2 hours depending on size and weight of chicken. Serves 2-4.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Orange Slices

From November 1947 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:  Cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise into 1⁄2-inch slices. Place the thinly sliced orange on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and dot with butter. Add 1⁄4 cup of boiling water and bake in a moderately hot oven (350� F.), basting occasionally, until the potatoes are glazed and brown, about 25 minutes.

Bacon Corn Muffins

From October 1949 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:  Sift flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt together. Beat the egg and add milk. Combine with flour mixture. Add melted shortening and beat well. Fill oiled muffin pans 2⁄3 full. Sprinkle tops of muffins with uncooked, diced bacon. Bake 15 minutes in hot oven (400˚ F.), then set muffins under broiler so that bacon may become crisp. Yield: 8-10 medium muffins.

Macaroni foods are labor savers. There is no waste in peeling or cleaning. Cooked macaroni products will keep overnight in the refrigerator. Store surplus macaroni, spaghetti and noodles in air-tight containers for later use by reheating.

Dude Ranch Eggs

From January 1952 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until tender (about 7 minutes). Drain and rinse. While macaroni is cooking, fry bacon in heavy skillet until crisp. Drain on absorbent paper. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet. In saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons drippings, flour, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and chili powder. Add tomatoes and green pepper and saut� until pepper is tender; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add water, 11⁄2 teaspoons salt, pepper and macaroni. Pour egg mixture into hot skillet and cook over low heat. As egg thickens, lift up edge with fork, tipping pan slightly so uncooked mixture runs under. Cook about 2 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned. Pour 1⁄2 cup tomato sauce on half of omelet and fold other half over. Slide onto hot platter and top with remaining sauce. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.

Ever since an inspired cook discovered how to make molded salads that would be ready to serve in an hour instead of half a day, homemakers have loved the dish that was named �Souffl� Salad� because it is so light and delicious. Here�s the newest version, packed with fine California tuna, real mayonnaise and other good things. This recipe provides a main dish for warm days with a minimum of time spent in the kitchen. Make it early and tuck it away, or make it last minute when the unexpected but welcome guest comes for dinner.

California Souffl� Salad

From May 1955 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Add cold water, lemon juice, mayonnaise and salt. Blend well with rotary beater. Pour into refrigerator freezing tray. Quick-chill in freezing unit (without changing control) 15 to 20 minutes, or until firm, about 1 inch from edge but soft in center. Turn mixture into bowl and whip with rotary beater until fluffy. Fold in remaining ingredients. Pour into 1-quart mold or individual molds. Chill until firm in refrigerator (not freezing unit) 50 to 60 minutes. Unmold and garnish with salad greens and serve with additional mayonnaise if desired. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Each year when my husband puts in our tomato plants, I look forward not to the days when great red fruit hangs from the vines, but to the time in late summer when the bushes begin to show signs of wear and we all tire of tomatoes three times a day. Then I know I can gather in the green tomatoes for pickles ...

I will pickle anything, and do with drastic results sometimes, but I always come back to my favorite, the green tomato. It is with this pickle I try to perk up winter meals, grace my party tables and add to Christmas boxes in December.

Sally Arnaud�s Pickles

From September 1959 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Slice tomatoes. Alternate layers of tomatoes with layers of salt. Let sit overnight. Next morning, wash carefully. Mix together sugar, vinegar, mustard seed, dry mustard, celery seed and peppers and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, onions and tumeric and cook for half hour or more after mixture comes to a second boil. Pour into hot jars and seal at once.

The men who have formed our government have brought with them from all over the state the ideas and ideals that have made us proud of Virginia. They have brought with them also favorite recipes of old Virginia foods. Not for their roads or sound fiscal policies do we salute them now, but for their many tasty recipes.

Governor Darden�s Peanut Soup

From January 1962 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Mix butter and flour, add water and cook until smooth. Add the milk and remove from heat. Add peanut butter, beat thoroughly. Add seasonings. Serve hot.

Shrimp Paste

From December 1965 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:  Place softened cheese with all other ingredients, except shrimp, in a blender and mix well. With a sharp knife, cut the cleaned, cooked shrimp into small cubes and stir gently into the cheese mixture. Serve with tiny hot biscuits or potato chips.

This spoon bread recipe is so easy it can be served on busy morning work days as well as Sunday breakfast leisure days.

Easy Spoon Bread

From December 1967 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Measure dry milk and water according to directions on package, but do not mix water with powder. Boil water. Mix dry milk with corn meal. Pour water into dry ingredients; stir. Add salt, sugar and oil. Beat eggs slightly and add to mixture. Pour into buttered baking dish and bake at 450� F. for 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Generations of Virginians, noted for their hospitality and eggnog, fling open their doors throughout the holidays in welcome to family and friends. Eggnog, long a favorite in Virgnia, is the traditional drink guests are welcomed with and toasted with most often ... Deck the halls. Beat the eggs. Have a Merry Christmas.

Eggnog Old Virginia

From December 1968 Rural Virginia

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Beat egg yolks well. Add 21⁄4 cups sugar and continue to beat well. Add brandy and rum, alternately and slowly. To this add 3 quarts heavy cream and fold in half of beaten egg whites. Beat remaining 6 egg whites very stiff and add cup of powdered sugar. Stir lightly into this 1 quart of cream and fold this mixture into the other ingredients. Let stand from 6 to 12 hours in a cold place before serving.

Old-Fashioned Butter Cookies

From December 1971 Rural Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Cream butter; add sugar and vanilla and continue creaming until light. Beat eggs and add to butter mixture. Blend well. Sift together flour and salt, add to dough, using more flour if necessary to make stiff dough. Chill 20 to 30 minutes. Roll out to 1⁄4-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutter. Bake on lightly buttered cookie sheet in hot oven (400� F.), about 10 minutes. Cookies may be sprinkled with sugar before baking. Remove from pans to racks to cool. Makes 5 to 6 dozen cookies.

Potato Croquettes

From October 1972 Rural Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Mix together first five ingredients. Beat until light. Add chopped parsley and a few drops onion juice. Shape into smooth balls, then into cylinders. Dip in bread crumbs, then in beaten egg yolks, then in crumbs again. Fry in deep fat, 375˚ F., for 5 minutes. Serves 4.

Oysters are more than just a seafood on the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers. It is a major industry for Virginia and it is a way of life on the Eastern Shore ...

Seafood is enjoying a boom now, but this hasn�t really affected oysters yet. People are still a little suspicious of canned oysters. Perhaps they bought a can that had more water than oysters. But I suggest they try some Virginia oysters, that�ll change their minds.

Oyster Stew

From December 1975 Rural Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Simmer oysters and liquid in butter for 3 minutes or until edges begin to curl. Scald milk in separate saucepan over very low heat or in top of double boiler. Add oysters and seasonings. Serve hot, do not boil.

Everything is changing ... There is a woman on the Supreme Court. Men are dancing the female lead in Swan Lake. With all of this going on, why not change a few Christmas traditions.

In 1981, forget the time-honored plum pudding and serve instead a steamed chocolate pudding.

Mexican Chocolate Steamed Pudding

From December 1981 Rural Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla. Beat in egg and melted chocolate. Continue to beat until well-blended. Mix and sift  flour, baking powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixture alternately with milk. Stir in almonds. Fill a well-greased 2-qt. mold 2⁄3 full. Cover tightly. Place mold on rack in large kettle. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up mold. Steam for 2 hours. Be sure water boils continuously. Unmold. Serve hot with sherry sauce.

Baked Acorn Squash

From November 1986 Rural Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out seeds; loosen membrane and discard. Parboil in salted water for five minutes or until meat is tender, but not mushy, all the way down to the skin. Remove from water, drain and cool. Scoop out the meat and combine with a well-beaten egg. (A grapefruit spoon is the handiest tool I�ve found for this operation.) Refill the skin with the squash mixture. Dot the top of each squash with butter and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake 25-35 minutes at 350˚ F. or until set. Test by inserting a knife slightly off center. If the knife comes out clean, squash custard is set. Serves 2.

Corn Relish

From August 1990 Rural Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients except corn in a bowl and whisk to blend. Add corn, mix and chill.

Holiday Rice with Grapes

From November 1994 Rural Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Brown rice in oil briefly. Add onion, celery and mushrooms. Stir and saut� briefly. Add broth and seasonings. Cook, covered, for 25-30 minutes, or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed. Add grapes, nuts and parsley. Cook 2 minutes longer, or until grapes are thoroughly heated. Makes 6 servings.

Savory Roasted Turkey

From Nov./Dec. 2001 Cooperative Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 325� F. Combine first 5 ingredients; set aside. Wash turkey and remove giblets. Place turkey on a rack in shallow baking pan. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of seasoning mixture inside the turkey. Stuff bay leaves, celery stalks, onion and orange inside turkey. Rub oil and remaining seasoning mixture over entire surface of turkey. Loosely tent with foil. Bake 31⁄2 to 4 hours or until meat thermometer reads 180� F. in thigh. Baste several times with pan juices. Remove foil during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Serves 10-12.

Sam�s Favorite Artichoke Dip

From Nov./Dec. 2004 Cooperative Living

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: Chop artichokes. Combine with remaining ingredients. Place in small casserole dish. Bake at 350� F. for 15 minutes or until warmed through. Serve with crackers.