Recipe: Menu Suggestions and Recipes for Dad's 80th Birthday - Dearest Beth: I commend you for your beautiful idea!

My recommendation is that you select music of the big bands & of course, some marvelous jazz. What a wonderful golden generation! During that time they preferred their cocktails & perhaps a big punch bowl. Probably you have some or a lot of photos that can be enlarged at the computer. Use the sepia color provided by the Microsoft Office program or the program used by your printer for reproducing photos. Prepare a wall with photos of the gentleman & of the family. He will enjoy them so much! Also prepare a Diploma celebrating his life & his lifetime achievements & make all the close family members to sign the diploma. Have your camera for taking many photos because those photos will be treasured for many years to come!

For doing your Menu, select among the recipes that follow.

Here are some recipes which I found in the Internet that are representative of the depression era:

Ginger Ice Box Cookies

1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup shortening
3 eggs, beat well
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 cup molasses
4 1/2 cup flour
1 cup nut meats

Cream sugar and shortening. Add well beaten eggs, then the molasses. Sift all dry ingredients and add to the first mixture. Add nut meats. Form into rolls and place in refrigerator to chill. {over night is best Cut into thin slices with sharp knife and bake in a moderate oven, 375/o for 12 to 15 minutes.
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Fruit Cookies

3 eggs
3 tablespoons cold water
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon soda
3 cups butter
1 cup raisins

Add to this recipe figs, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon to your taste. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Bake in moderate oven until done.
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Molasses Cookies

2 cups rolled oats ground fine
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2tablespoons melted shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup milk

Mix the dry ingredients, add shortening, molasses and milk. Mix thoroughly. Flour a board with a little of the ground rolled oats. Roll out in a thin sheet and cut with a cookie cutter. Bake in a moderate oven, 350/o, for about 12 minutes.
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Fruit Loaf Candy

1 pound light brown sugar
1 pound pulverized sugar
1 pint sweet cream
1 teaspoon cream of tartar, dissolved in little warm water
1/4 pound candied cherries, cut into small pieces
1/4 pound candied pineapple, cut into small pieces

Mix very thoroughly, then boil until a firm, soft ball will form in water. Let stand a few minutes, then stir with a spoon, then knead on a board until creamy. Just before done add the candied cherries and pineapple. Mound mixture into three loaves.
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Cream Fudge

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons butter
speck salt
4 drops flavoring

Cook sugar, milk, and syrup together until it will form soft ball when dropped in cold water. Remove from fire and let cool until it begins to thicken. Add flavoring. Beat until creamy. { Nuts, figs, coconut or candied cherries may be chopped and added to fudge while beating if desired.
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Stuffed Cabbage

1 medium head cabbage
2 ounces pork, chopped fine
2 ounce veal
2 tablespoons butter
2 egg yokes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon onion
1 cup crumbs
1 pimento

Parboil cabbage, drain and let cool. Open leaves and scoop out center of cabbage, save the center and chopped it fine, add bread crumbs, moistened with butter, add meat, seasoning and the cabbage that has been chopped fine. Mix these all together. Stuff into the cavity of the cabbage. fold the leaves back over, and tie with a string to hold. Bake in moderate oven for about 3 hours.
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Casserole of Vegetables with Ham

1 pound cabbage
2 cups carrots, cubed
2 cups turnips, diced
1 quart tomatoes
3 onions, sliced
bit of bay leaf
1 cup celery, diced or 1 teaspoon celery seed
end of ham
3/4 cup uncoated or polished rice
6 cloves
6 peppercorns

Quarter the cabbage and place in a deep casserole dish or pan. Add other vegetables alternately with the rice. Put the ham {from which the skin has been removed} in the middle, together with the spices, tied in a small piece of clean muslin cloth. Cover with boiling water and cook very gently for 3 hours in a slow oven at 275 degrees F..
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Scalloped Corn
1 can corn
3 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups sweet milk
1/2 cup soda cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Beat eggs separately, put 1 teaspoon of butter in baking dish and 2 tablespoons butter melted butter into cracker crumbs. Add yokes of eggs, milk, salt and sugar to corn, fold in whites of eggs. Bake in casserole dish for fifty minutes in moderate oven.
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Cottage Cheese Salad

1 package lime jello
1 3/4 cup boiling water
pinch salt
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cottage cheese
1 small onion, chopped fine

let set until beginning to gel in refrigerator. Then remove and whip the mix Add 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 small onion chopped fine and 1 cup cottage cheese. return to a mold and place in the refrigerator covered until firm and ready to serve.
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Waldorf Salad

2 cups apples diced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced oranges
1/4 cup sliced dates
2/3 cup chopped nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
mayonnaise dressing

Marinate apples in lemon juice. Add celery, oranges, dates, nuts, salt, and sugar. moisten with mayonnaise. Mix lightly with 2 forks, serve on lettuce leaf. for individual salads, by each plate.
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Wilted lettuce

1 large bowl of fresh clean garden picked lettuce pieces
8 slices of bacon fried and crumbled. {more if you like}
1 small onion diced small
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar

Break lettuces into a large bowl and salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients to bacon fat in frying pan. {use not more than 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat} Bring this to a boil stirring constantly, pour over the lettuce, toss lightly with salad fork and spoon until the lettuce is wilted.
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Perfection Salad

2 tablespoons gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup mild vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 cup boiling water
1 cup ginger ale
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely shredded cabbage
2 cups celery, cut in small pieces
2 pimientos or 1/4 cup red or green peppers, cut in small pieces

Soak gelatin in cold water, add boiling water, then vinegar, ginger ale, lemon juice and salt. Strain and when mixture starts to thicken, add remaining ingredients. Turn into a lightly greased mold and chill. Serve on lettuce and garnish with mayonnaise.
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Fried Macaroni and cheese

1 pound macaroni
3 to 4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound margarine or butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Cook macaroni in water and the salt until tender. Drain. In a large skillet, heat the butter or margarine, pour the well drained macaroni into the skillet. Beat the eggs as for scrambled, pour this over the macaroni. Fry on medium heat. Add the shredded cheese over the top and cook until the eggs, macaroni, and cheese are all blended and a golden brown on both sides.
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Meatless Loaf

1 cup rice
1 cup peanuts crushed
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt


Combine all the ingredients together. bake in a loaf pan for 30 minutes or until loaf is good and set.
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Swiss Loaf

2 lbs. round steak, ground
1 cup bread crumbs, moisten with milk
2 eggs
1 onion
1 mango, chopped fine
1 quart tomatoes

Mix all ingredients together. Shape into a loaf. Bake slowly in Medium hot oven for 2 hours
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Veal Balls with Lemon Gravy

1 pound of ground veal
2 slices bread, moistened with milk
2 eggs
some salt and pepper
small soup bone
2 bay leaves
1 small onion
1/2 lemon sliced

Cover soup bone with plenty water, add bay leaves,onion, and boil for 2 hours. Prepare veal, moistened bread, eggs,salt and pepper. Make into balls. Add these to soup and cook for 1 hour. Thicken the gravy with flour and add slices of lemon. Serve the balls covered with gravy and garnish with parsley.
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Mother's Dumpling Recipe

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3/4 to 1 cup milk
2 quarts broth or more

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add shortening, then milk until thick batter is obtained. Drop by teaspoonfuls in boiling broth cover and cook covered 10 minutes. {Broth should be boiling slow all the time while cooking} do not lift the lid while cooking.
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Hominy Corn Bread

1 cup hominy
1 tablespoon shortening, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Combine hominy, shortening, eggs, and milk. Add cornmeal, salt and baking powder. Let stand 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon more of milk if desired. Pour into large well oiled pan and bake at 425/o for 35 minutes or until a deep golden brown.
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Plum Pudding

1 pound raisins
1 pound suet, chopped fine
1 pound stale bread crumbs
1/4 pound sugar
1 lemon, grated rind and juice
1/4 pound flour
1 pound currants, washed and dried
1/2 nutmeg, grated
5 eggs
1/2 pint milk
1/2 pound minced citron and lemon peel

Mix all the ingredients together, beat the eggs and add them to the milk, then pour them over the dry ingredients and thoroughly mix. Pack into greased pudding moulds and steam 6 hours at the time of making and steam again 2 hours when wanted to use. Serve with either brandy or nutmeg sauce. This mixture will make about 6 pounds.
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Mash Potato Cake

4 eggs
1 scant cup of butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup chopped nuts
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour

Mix together eggs, butter, sugar until creamy. Add the mashed potatoes, blend well. Sift the flour once add the baking powder sift again, then add the cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, to the flour, add alternately the flour mixture and milk to the first 4 ingredients. Mix well add the vanilla and the nuts stir until all are blended. Pour into either loaf or cake pans that have been greased. Bake in a moderately hot oven at 350/o for 35 to 45 minutes, or until when checked with tooth pick comes out clean, or when press with finger on top of cake and it springs back.
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Fudge Chocolate Cake

1/2 cup Shorting
1 1/2cup Sugar Cream these two ingredients together.
Add 2 eggs mix well. Sift together the following ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder Add to above mixture alternately with
1 cup milk
Mix 1/2 cup cocoa + 1/3 cup hot water to form a smooth paste.Mix this in the batter
and add 1 teaspoon Vanilla

Bake in 2 round layer cake pans,greased and dusted with floured place in hot oven at 350 0/ oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove, cool, and frost with favorite icings.
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Frozen Custard

2 cups milk
4 teaspoons cornstarch {use the whites for making meringues, ect.}
4 egg yokes
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Scald milk in the upper part of a double boiler. Add cornstarch and sugar mixed, and cook for 10 minutes. Pour over the slightly beaten egg yokes. Return to double boiler and cook 5 minutes more or until custard thickens. Cool, then add vanilla and fold in cream which has been whipped until it holds it shape. freeze for 2 1/2 hours in the mechanical refrigerator, or turn into mold, cover tightly, and bury in equal parts of ice and salt. Will freeze in about 2 hours.
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Depression Cake

1 cup raisins
2 cups cold water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until real smooth. Cook raisins in water until water is reduced to 1 cup. Sift all dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the raisins and the liquid. Grease and flour a tube or loaf pan. Pour the cake mixture into pan and bake in a 350/o oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done when tested with a tooth pick in the center of the cake.
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ENJOY YOUR CELEBRATION!!!!!!

Gladys/PR