Thanksgiving Receipts - 1868

Being the month of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share two receipts from 

Peterson's Magazine 1868 

(now remember, I haven't tested these receipts/recipes... so be careful)

Mashed Potatoes. – Mashed potatoes form a very common dish at English tables. This dish is generally, however, a kind of substitute, for the vegetable is seldom mashed unless it be so bad, when boiled, as to be uneatable, as is often the case. The ordinary mode of mashing potatoes is very unwholesome; it forms a greasy and often rancid compound in the stomach, so tenacious of the adhesive principle that the most robust powers of digestion can scarcely act upon it; and yet it is eaten by the most delicate females, who find themselves indisposed after it, but never impute their ailment to the potatoes, “which,” as they say, “never can do any harm.” Potatoes for mashing should be as nicely boiled as if they were intended to be eaten without further preparation; only they should be dressed a little more, though care should be taken not to let the water get into them. The farinaceous* part only should be used, and with it a small quantity of the freshest butter. It is customary in some families to brown with a salamander the top of a dish of mashed potatoes. This is by no means objectionable, though we are of opinion that by adding a little cream, and putting the mashed potatoes into the oven to brown them, a great improvement would be made. Mashed potatoes are also very nice if made up into round balls, covered with yolk of egg, and fried a light brown. They might with great advantage be mixed with some cold fish finely shred, and a little chopped parsley, then dipped in yolk of egg, and fried. In many families the cold remains of fish are often thrown away, which would answer this purpose extremely well, and form a very savory dish for the next day’s dinner. These two later preparations should be garnished with fried parsley.

Sweet-Potato Balls. – First boil the potatoes, then carefully mash the farinaceous* part. Boil, in the meantime, a pint of milk with some lemon-peel, a couple of small lumps of sugar, and a little salt. When the milk boils, take it off the fire, and add the potatoes, so as to form a paste, or rather a tolerable thick mash. When cold, make it into balls; cover these with crumbs of bread and yolk of egg. Fry them of a nice brown color, and serve them up with sugar strewed over them.

*farinaceous -  consisting of or containing starch

I imagine that Mrs. Hampton of the Hampton Boarding house in Bower, Colorado would find these receipts edifying and something to consider when setting her menu for fall. With the rivers nearby, there might be some nice fish to use in the suggested receipt for left over mashed potatoes.

Then again, with all of the people staying at the boarding house, I doubt that she'd have any left overs at all.

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