From the Highlands and the Sea w. Cape Breton Casserole, Hogmanay Rich Biscuits, Aspy Bay Fried Smelts & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: From the Highlands and the Sea

Publication Details: McCurdy Printing, 1973

This wonderful cookbook that was compiled by the Ingonish Women's Hospital Auxiliary in 1973 is a look at recipes from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Done in a classic community cookbook bare bones, ringed style, there are dozens of recipes grouped into sections like Soup & Chowder, Breads, Desserts, etc. There is also, needless to say, a fish section and a lot of seafood based dishes in every applicable section. Lobster, scallops, shrimp, cod (and codfish tongues), smelts, salmon and others are all represented in the book. The Festive Oyster Pie below is quite spectacular.

A lot of this is very hearty, old-school Eastern North American fare. The book even opens with a section devoted to porridge and gruel! There are recipes for rabbit, beef tongue, seal, baked beans, turnips, etc. as well as a wide array of casseroles and stews and recipes like Mother's Corn Fritters and Jessie's Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies.

Here we have included a real cross-section of what the book has to offer as well as highlighting many that had local place names like Aspy Bay or Englishtown attached to them. We have also added a biscuit recipe meant to help celebrate Hogmanay (Scottish New Year).

For fans of the drink there are also a couple of those, including the delightful sounding, whiskey based Aberdeen Welcome.

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Good Housekeeping's Fish and Shellfish Book w. Tuna Chowder, Broiled Swordfish Steaks, Clams Casino & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: Good Housekeeping's Fish and Shellfish Book 

Publication Details: Consolidated Book Publishers, 1958

Published in 1958 from the folks at Good Housekeeping Magazine this cookbook is entirely dedicated to fish and shellfish, the various methods of cooking them and the sauces, stuffings and sides that best accompany them.

As is generally the case of cookbooks from the 50s some of the recipes will seem quite dated to today's tastes, but there are many classics here as well that will appeal to fans of seafood. In some cases where the recipe is not bad, such as the Tuna Chowder, the accompanying photo is hilariously off-putting.

The book has some colour photos as well as many little whimsical illustrations. Here we are sharing the recipes and sauces for the dishes that had photos as well as a recipe for Clams (or Oyster) Casino because I love Clams Casino.

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Tuna Chowder

Baked Stuffed Striped Bass w. Rice and Olive Stuffing

Broiled Swordfish Steaks w. Pineapple Chunks

Broiled Perch Fillets w. Tomato Halves and Cheese Sauce

The Saint Louis Cookbook with Catfish Creole, Chimi-Churri Oysters, Bourbon BBQ & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook: The Saint Louis Cookbook (Bicentennial Issue)

Publication Details: Cookbook Collector's Library, 1964

The Saint Louis Cookbook is an example (and a very good one) of a whole sub-genre of cookbook that is centered around a city, state, town or province. These were especially popular in the mid-20th century and usually would combine recipes with some connection to the history and cuisine of the region with little bits of history, legend, etc.

In this case there are a lot of recipes and, despite the fact that the cookbook is from 1964, many of them are both really good and not as dated as one might expect -- something that is all too often the case of books from this era. At over 300 pages it is a substantial one with recipes divided into sections like Appetizers, Breads, Cookies, Meats, Soups, etc. Given that this is about St. Louis there is also a large section dedicated to BBQ and BBQ sauces.

It was issued for the bicentennial of the city and has various illustrations and photographs of city buildings and landmarks as well as many anecdotes in among the recipes, a fair number of which are -- needless to say with St. Louis' history of breweries -- related to beer!

Today we are looking at a relatively small sampling of the recipes (given the book's size) and I have included a number of BBQ ones, a beer cheese soup (of course) and could not resist a bourbon based recipe.

Also, Chimi-Churri Oysters because Chimi-Churri Oysters!

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Editor's Notes: While not the same, there are a couple of things you can replace MSG with. Some sea salt, fish sauce or soy sauce if you like, or simply leave it out. Also, while the BBQ sauce here is pretty good, if you are going to make it in this quantity you should be sure to use properly sterilized jars to store any sauce for any length of time in a jar in your fridge.

Editor's Note: I would skip the meat tenderizer altogether and simply try to chose a roast that will turn out as you like it.  

See also: Corn Flakes Break'n Bake w. Parmesan Pork, Apricot Chiffon Pie & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

See also: The Farmhouse Cookbook w. Raised Doughnuts, Puzzle Cake, Beef Stroganoff & more -- Vintage Cookbook TBT

Vintage Cookbook TBT List