Cheap White Cakes For Tea

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup fine sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
• 2 cups of milk 

Directions

1. Turn oven on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl.
3. Sift the sugar into a small bowl.
4. Add to the flour the butter, sugar, egg, and caraway seed and mix together.
5. Add just enough milk to make the mixture into a paste.
6. Roll it out to 1/4 inch in thickness or thinner.
7. Cut it in small round cakes.
8. Bake on tin plates in the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes.

— Lafcadio Hearn

Source — La Cuisine Creole
Prepared by Ashley Morgan
Louisiana Anthology
January 5, 2022

Superior Tomato Catsup

Ingredients

• 1 Bushel (8 dry quarts) of ripe tomatoes
• 1 1/2 Pint of Salt
• 4 Tablespoons of Ground cloves
• 4 Tablespoons of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 Pound of allspice
• 1 Tablespoon of black pepper
• 1 head of garlic; skinned and separated
• 1/2 gallon of vinegar

Directions

1. Boil the tomatoes with water until they are soft enough to squeeze through a sieve.
2. Once strained add to the pulp salt, ground cloves, cayenne pepper, allspice, black pepper, garlic, and vinegar.
3. Boil the ingredients until it is reduced by half. 
4. Bottle the catsup.

— Lafcadio Hearn

Source — La Cuisine Creole
Prepared by Ashley Morgan
Louisiana Anthology
January 5, 2022

Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 5 Large Tomatoes
• Handful of Parsley
• 1 Slice of fatty bacon
• 1 Slice of ham
• 1 Cup of breadcrumbs
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• Pinch of thyme

Directions

1. Slice off the top of the tomatoes.
2. Cut out a little of their pulp, take out the seeds, and strain them.
3. Chop up the pulp with a handful of parsley, a slice of fatty bacon, a slice of ham, and a cup of bread crumbs.
4. Put the chopped-up mixture into a frying pan and fry it.
5. Add in butter, pepper, salt, thyme, and 2 egg yolks.
6. Mix this until the eggs are beaten in.
7. Remove from heat and stuff the tomatoes.
8. Bake them for half an hour.

Tastes good mixed with brown sauce or gravy served over them.

—Lafcadio Hearn

Source — La Cuisine Creole
Prepared by Ashley Morgan
Louisiana Anthology
January 5, 2022

Great-Grandma's Banana Pudding

Because my great-grandmother is 100 years old and gets confused about time periods, she does not know where she found the recipe. She just has it memorized. When her daughter got married, her daughter (my father's mother) received the recipe as a wedding gift. When my great-grandmother went into the nursing home I knew that in order to keep the tradition of the banana pudding on the holidays alive, I would need the recipe. I got the recipe from her.

Ingredients

• 4 Eggs
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla
• 4 Tbsp. Oleo
• 1 large can evaporate milk
• 4 to 6 Bananas
• 1 large box vanilla wafers

Directions

1. Mix together the sugar and flour. Once mixed set aside.
   

2. Dump the can of evaporated milk into a measuring cup and add enough water to make the measuring cup reach 4 cups of liquid. 
3. Mix the evaporated milk and water together. Once mixed set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy.
5. Add the sugar-flour mixture and evaporated milk-water mixture to the bowl with the eggs. 
6. Blend well.
7. Dump the mixture into a skillet.
8. Cook over low heat, on the stovetop, stirring constantly until it boils. 
9. Once it is at a low boil, add in vanilla and oleo. 
10. Mix until vanilla and oleo are melted and the mixture is a semi-solid consistency and creamy in texture.
    
11. Remove from heat.
12. Cut the banana into slices.
    
13. Layer the serving bowl with vanilla wafers to your liking.
14. Then add some of the sliced bananas on top to your liking.
15. Lastly, add some of the pudding on top to your liking
16. Repeat steps 13-15 until you run out of pudding. 
17. Decorate with extra banana slices and vanilla wafers.

Source — Great-Grandma Lois Hood
Prepared by her great-grandaughter Ashly Morgan
Louisiana Anthology
January 5, 2022