Read Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen Online
Authors: Rae Katherine Eighmey
Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen (33 page)
And there was the palpable, unstoppable momentum of progress. Its sound was inescapable in
Springfield. Our Ames, Iowa, backyard was about the same distance from the Union Pacific railroad line as the Lincolns' was from the
Great Western line. The everyday sounds of the ninety trains passing through Ames added an underlying soundtrack mixed in with cars, air conditioners, the general hum of mechanized modern life, sounds you don't really realize are there. I could hear the trains as I worked in the yard and even inside the house on cold winter sound-carrying nights. Yet, the Union Pacific's diesel-electric engines are quiet compared to the chuff-chuffing and steam-whistle blowing of Lincoln's Great Western. During Lincoln's day there would have been a sustaining base rhythm of progress, tooâmechanical sounds, perhaps felt more than heardâfrom the steam engines, drive belts, and machines of the various factories around town. At night there would have been only the trains and the ticking of the clock in the Lincolns' house. Progress calling, marking time.
Lincoln
traveled by rail to some of the
Lincoln-
Douglas debate sites and was greeted by throngs of hundreds at the stations. He took trains around the state to court and to speak for Republican candidates. And he boarded the train at 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, February 22, 1860, for New
York and
Cooper Union. The trip took three days and Lincoln changed trains twice in the middle of the night. He made it to Philadelphia at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday and then into New York later that day.
Lincoln's Cooper Union presentation the night of February 27, 1860, is said to have been the speech that brought him to national prominence as a voice of reason against the continuing threat from the Southern, slavery-promoting political forces. It is a masterwork of perspective, argument, and persuasion. It was reprinted in newspapers across the nation. Again, Lincoln spoke of progress, saying that to adhere only to the past (as the opposition had framed the conflict) would “be to discard all the lights of the current experienceâto reject all progressâall improvement.” He ended with a call to action. “Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”
In 1860, presidential candidates were nominated directly at political conventions, without primaries or caucuses. The April Democratic Party convention in Charleston, South Carolina, adjourned without a nominee. The Republicans were to meet in Chicago in the middle of May. In a candid letter to political ally Lyman Trumbull, dated April 29, Lincoln let it be known that he did see an opening for a run for the office. “I will be entirely frank. The taste
is
in my mouth a little.”
Lincoln accepted the Republican nomination for president three weeks later on May 19, 1860. He ran against a Democratic party in disarray. Once again, Stephen Douglas was his main opponent; two splinter-faction tickets headed by John Breckenridge and John Bell divided the Southern states' votes.
When Abraham Lincoln was nearly eight years old, his father moved the family some sixty miles and across the Ohio River from Kentucky to Indianaâfrom a
slave state to the opportunity of
a free state. Sixty miles and the Ohio River had then effectively separated them from slavery. Not quite fifty years later, steamboats and railroads had overtaken long-distance travel by foot and horse. News and information sped across copper telegraph wires. And no state was isolated from the controversy of slavery.
The stage was set for Lincoln's presidency and the Civil War that was to follow.
IRISH STEW
Â
There are numerous Irish stew recipes in period sources. This is one of the best, not only of the period recipes, but also of any stew I've made. The ratio of a relatively small quantity of inexpensive mutton to the much larger amount of cheaper potato in this recipe and others reflects the challenging economic situation of many Irish
immigrants
.
1 pound boneless breast of mutton or beef chuck
1 ½ cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds small, or B-size, red potatoes, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 or 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
Put the meat into a heavy stew pan with a lid. Add water. Simmer for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender. Spoon the meat from the broth and cut into small pieces. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Divide the meat into thirds. Divide the potatoes and onions into thirds as well. Put one-third of the potatoes in the bottom of the pot, cover and simmer with one-third of the meat and one-third of the onions. Repeat until all are back in the pot. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about another half hour to an hour. Watch carefully, shaking the pot from time to time so the potatoes don't stick to the bottom and scorch.
TIP FOR SUCCESS:
Having the right pot size is key to this delicious dish. A tall, narrow, heavy pot will allow you to have the nine layers of meat and potatoes so that the simmering broth will cook and flavor the potatoes evenly.
Makes 8 servings
ADAPTED FROM “IRISH STEW,” AN AMERICAN LADY,
THE AMERICAN HOME COOK BOOK
, 1854.
GERMAN BEEF WITH SOUR CREAM
Â
The kitchen fills with delicious aromas as this simply seasoned beef roasts to perfection while creating the basis for a sour cream sauce. Letting the roast rest while you finish up the gravy allows the juices to be retained in the meat as you slice it for serving. This hearty dish goes well with sauerkraut
.
1 2- to 3-pound beef round or rump roast
¾ cup sour cream
½ cup milk, approximately
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Remove the meat from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, about an hour.
Make a basting sauce by combining the sour cream with enough milk to thin to the consistency of whipping cream and put in the refrigerator. Depending on the size of your roast, you may need to mix up more.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper. Put fat side up in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 225°F. The meat should reach medium rare internal temperature of 135° to 140°F in 2 to 3 hours. After the first 10 minutes at this lower temperature, baste with the sour cream mixture. Continue basting every half hour. Stop basting about a half hour before you think the meat will be finished. Remove the meat to a plate and let it rest, covered with foil, for 15 minutes. Gently mix the juices and sour cream in the baking pan to make a sauce.
Makes 8 to 10 servings
ADAPTED FROM “TENDERLOIN WITH SOUR CREAM,” WILLIAM VOLLMER,
THE UNITED STATES COOK BOOK: A COMPLETE MANUAL FOR LADIES, HOUSEKEEPERS, AND COOKS
, 1859.
SERVING SAUERKRAUT:
Next to beer, sauerkraut may be the most famous German traditional menu item. Lincoln's neighbors and friends probably shared their homemade
cabbage dish as a special treat. A German-American cookbook,
The United States Cook Book: A Complete Manual for Ladies, Housekeepers, and Cooks
, offers this way for serving sauerkraut:
Sour Kraut is best, when boiled very slowly for six hours with some good roast meat-drippings and the requisite quantity of soup-stock. A few minutes before dishing, pour over it some good white wine and then send it to the table with an accompaniment to suit your taste. It must be very soft and nearly quite dry. If a couple of pounds of fresh pork are cooked with the sour kraut, it will give a nice flavor.
MINCED BEEF THE PORTUGUESE WAY
Â
This version of steak and eggs makes the most out of leftover meat and bread. Quickly cooked, the ingredients are arranged in a fanciful manner and glazed with a sugar syrup. The communal serving platter welcomes guests to a hearty meal with a strong sense of international style
.
1 ½ pounds chopped cooked sirloin
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup prepared beef gravy
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup simple sugar syrup or melted apple jelly, to glaze
3 pieces of homemade-style bread, toasted, buttered, and cut into triangles
6 eggs, poached or hard-boiled
Place the beef in a medium frying pan and warm it over low heat. Sprinkle with the flour and stir to blend. Stir in the gravy. Taste and add salt and black pepper if needed. Stir until thoroughly warmed, but do not let it boil. Stir in a tablespoon of the glaze or jelly.
To serve, take a large serving dish or pie plate and stand the bread triangles on edge so that the points meet in the center. Fill the areas in between with the meat mixture. Make a hollow in the center of each meat section for an egg. Sprinkle the eggs with a little pepper, salt, and a few drops of glaze. Glaze the combs of bread and serve.
Makes 6 generous servings
ADAPTED FROM PERIOD SOURCES.
OYSTER STEW
Â
In the nineteenth century,
oysters were a popular, inexpensive, and well-traveled seafood. Barrels of live oysters traveled south and west from New York and
Baltimore harbors. Canned oysters, too, filled store shelves in Springfield.
Mace, the ground husk of a nutmeg, was a common seasoning at the time. Here it adds both a mellow and slightly sharp subtle flavor to the light stew
.
TO STEW OYSTERS:
1 pint shucked oysters with liquid
¼ teaspoon ground mace
Peel from 1 lemon
4 white peppercorns
1 cup light cream
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
“Snippets,” small triangles of homemade-style bread, toasted and buttered, to serve
Drain the oysters, reserving their liquor. Wash to remove any grit and filter the oyster liquor to remove grit as well. Place the oysters, liquor, mace, lemon peel, and peppercorns in a small saucepan. Stir in the cream and simmer very gently over low heat, until the edges of the oysters curl up indicating that they are cooked, about 5 minutes. Mix the flour and butter with a fork into a smooth paste. Remove the oysters from the cooking liquid and keep warm. Drop small bits of the flour mixture into the liquid then stir until smooth and thickened. Return the oysters to the liquid to warm through. Serve with “snippets.”
Makes 4 servings as an appetizer
.
ADAPTED FROM “OYSTERS, STEWED,” MISS ELIZA LESLIE,
MISS LESLIE'S NEW RECEIPTS FOR COOKING
, 1852.
