Today’s recipe is from one of my oldest cookbooks.
I recently purchased this small volume entitled ‘Royal Baker and Pastry Cook’ with an attractive full-color cover at a library book sale.
I know some cookbook lovers are reading this so I’ll spend a few moments describing this fascinating historic document.
It says on the cover that it was printed in 1902 by the Royal Baking Powder Company by the ‘Chefs of The New York Cooking School.’
Wow!
I was thrilled to find it, not only for its age but its condition. It’s staple binding has held together for more than a century. A small tear on the front cover is the only one throughout.
The 42-page interior contains hundreds of recipes in tiny print. I had to use a magnifying glass to read part of today’s recipe which is ‘Spider Cornbread.’ But it was worth it!
First, I had to do a little research. What was ‘Spider Cornbread’?
The recipe refers to the type of pan recommended be used.
According to an article published online by Michigan State University, a spider pan was originally made of cast iron, had a rounded bottom, and three long legs.
The long legs and round body gave the pan an arachnid-like look, resulting in it being named a “spider”.
These pans were used in fireplaces as the legs allowed the cook to place the pan directly above the coals. Later versions of the spider showed a flattened bottom with shortened legs. The sides of the pan remained slanted.
As I didn’t have a three-legged cast-iron pan – or even a flat cast-iron pan – I used a round cake pan.
I made it exactly like the recipe called for, except I didn’t have ‘Indian’ corn meal. I used Quaker corn meal that I’ve used in making regular cornbread, hoping it would work.
I think it worked well.
Spider Corn Bread (printed exactly as in the book)
Beat 2 eggs with 2 T. sugar. Add 1 pint milk, 1 t. salt, 1 + 1/3 c. Indian corn meal, 1/3 c. flour, 1 t. Royal Baking Powder. In a spider melt 2 T. butter; turn so as to grease sides. Pour in batter, add 1 c. milk, but do not stir. Bake about 30 minutes in hot oven. When done, it should have a streak of custard through the middle.
(Keep in mind this was in font that was about #6!)
My notes: As the middle didn’t look done after 30 minutes, I chose to bake it for 60 minutes, keeping an eye on it throughout.
There was one thing I’d change and that would be to bake it in a bigger dish. Three cups of milk, along with the other ingredients, made a very full cake pan.
I HATE to clean my oven (yes, it’s self-cleaning, but I have never figured out how to get it to work well). So if I can avoid a spill I will do so.
I also used parchment paper, rather than buttering a pan. As I stated earlier, I hate cleaning messes and that includes burnt pans. With parchment paper, I don’t have burnt edges and bottoms. Yeah!
The recipe was easy to mix up, which was helpful after a busy month of baking and cooking for the Christmas season.
**
The small librarian who placed this sweet book in the book sale had thoughtfully encased it in a plastic clear sleeve for protection. Having worked in a library, I know this person values books, even ones she was selling!
I told her I was thrilled with it and she showed me a couple more that were printed around a century ago. I’ll feature recipes from these in future posts.
It was helpful to use the new cookbook stand given to me by my daughter. Here is the link.
**
Vintage Find of the Week
My great local thrift store had a sale before Christmas – everything in the store was one dollar!
When I spied these two 7-inch plastic plates that show women modeling dresses, I was intrigued. On closer inspection, I found they were based on styles of patterns put out by the Simplicity Company. I sewed my clothes in the 1970s and remember this company.
The individual plates feature styles for specific patterns: 5330 and 7337.
On the backs the plates provide evidence that they are not really old – they are made in China and are ‘dishwasher-safe.’
Still, they attracted my attention as I’ve never seen pattern companies use kitchenware for advertising. They could be from the 1970s which is good enough.
Happy Vintage Living!
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Vintage Eats of Kayleen Reusser 
The old books are the best. I’ve always regretted not getting my mother’s old book!
Thanks for your comment. I don’t have my mother’s cookbooks either. In fact, I can’t recall her having one. I think she just winged it and always turned out a great meal.