The Monticello Hostess - A Recipe and a Look at Cookbooks from the 1950s

I'm going to guess that none of you have heard of Monticello (pronounce the c like an s), Mississippi.  There really isn't a reason to have heard of it.  It's a tiny town - population as of 2010 was 1,571 in the southern part of the state, 1 county away from the Louisiana state line and on the banks of the Pearl River.

The sign outside the old depot in Monticello, MS

In 1951 the Women's Club in Monticello published a cookbook called The Monticello Hostess.  It's one of those cookbooks that I worry are dying out.  The kind where everyone in the group contributes recipes that used to be everywhere but I don't see as often as I used too.

When the Tornado and I were at my grandparents' this past weekend I discovered my Grandmother's much loved copy of The Monticello Hostess.  In 1954 my Grandfather, a full time National Guardsman, was put over the station there.  In some ways I think it was a fairly idyllic time for them. His deployment to Korea was behind them, they had two young children and after a few years of living hundreds of miles away from their families they were now within 100 miles of almost everyone.  My grandfather, a pilot, was spending a lot of time flying to different Guard stations and my Grandmother was getting involved in all the organizations the little town had to offer which included The Women's Club which is why 60 + years later her copy is sitting open on my desk.

We had a good time giggling over some of the recipes.  The enthusiastic use of gelatin is somewhat terrifying.  Who knew that tuna and gelatin belonged in the same dish (and we're not going to talk about the Molded Salmon Salad)?  And just what is a yeast cake that's mentioned in a number of bread recipes?  How does that translate into what I can buy at the store now?  And what was even more interesting was the stories behind the names listed just below the the recipes.  I learned that all the Rhymes girls were good cooks and that Lynda Rhymes Clay had boys who were about the same age as my uncles which then led to a rather hair raising story involving half a dozen barefoot little boys, a rifle (hoping it was at least a BB gun) and a rather irritated snake.  That any recipe by Mrs. Bufkin is worth trying though other than this book she never would share her recipes.  That any recipe that came from Anita (whose last name I'm not mentioning!) was bound to be inedible and whole hosts of other stories about the characters who inhabited this little town.

One thing I found and really enjoyed about this book is that as long as I avoid anything involving gelatin the recipes really aren't particularly dated.  They're fairly simple, everything is from scratch and while some have a bit more fat than we tend to use today I have to wonder if it isn't all better for you than the cookbooks that might have half the fat but rely on can of whatever soup or other pre-made ingredients.

Today I'm sharing a recipe for Hot Potato Salad which was made by a Mrs. Sara Izard Hough who my Grandmother remembers nothing about.

Hot Potato Salad

6 cups cooked sliced potatoes

1/2 cup diced cooked bacon

6 tablespoons chopped onion

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon flour

3/4 teaspoon mustard

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 tablespoons vinegar

6 tablespoons boiling water

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Wash potatoes and steam until tender - about 30 minutes.  Peel and slice.  Fry bacon until slightly browned, and then add onion and brown.  Blend salt sugar, flour, mustard, and pepper and add to the onion and bacon.  Add the vinegar and boiling water and cook until smooth and thickened.  Add the potatoes and heat through until moisture has been partly absorbed.  Add parsley and serve hot.

My Results: I think I will be trying other recipes from Mrs. Hough as this was a very good classic Hot Potato salad.  It was just enough bacon and onion.  It was a little low on tang so I think I might change the proportion of vinegar to water - maybe 8 tablespoons vinegar to 4 tablespoons water and maybe add a little dijon mustard to up the mustard-y factor.  With those changes I can see this being my go-to potato salad!

I'm linking up with Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads