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This newsletter is devoted to promoting the Culinary History Collection, through access to unique information resources and preserving culinary
history. Housed in Special Collections at Virginia Tech's Newman Library, the Culinary History Collection began with the initial donations of Dora Greenlaw Peacock's
and Laura Jane Harper's books.
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Return to News Page
The news pages offers links to all the areas of the Peacock Harper Culinary Collection.
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Spring 2005:08
Slow Food, Italian-American Cooking Myths, Invitation to Outreach, Vanilla.
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Winter 2005:07
Understanding Women's Lives, Julia Child, Florence Nightingale's Influence, Real Life Kitchen Design, Vegetables Add Variety, and Book Reviews.
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Summer 2004:06
WWII Foods, additions to the collection, contributors to our culinary history & more.
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Winter 2004:05
Thanksgiving foods, Center for Real Life Kitchen Design, rare books & more.
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Spring 2004:04
Culinary Food History - Greens, Special Features: Student Papers & more.
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Summer 2002:03
Mary Randolph, Hertzler Culinary History Prize, Chef's Challenge Report & more.
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Winter 2001:02
Janet Lowe Cameron, Old Virginia Recipes, Rosemary & more.
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Spring 2001:01
Dora Greelaw Peacock & Laura Jane Harper, Culinary Thyme, Old Virginia Recipes, Studying Food in Culture, Dr. Markham Peacock & more.
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Issue #4, Spring 2003 Edited by Caryl Gray
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As we look forward to spring and the planting of vegetable gardens or purchasing fresh vegetable at the local farmer's markets, let us look at how greens were prepared as reflected in several early cook books.
Read More...
Written by by Ann Hertzler, PhD, Professor Emerita of Human, Foods and Exercise, Virginia Tech (1980-2001)
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The Roasted Vegetable by Andrea Chesman
I bought this book because of the inviting photograph on the cover! The book includes 152 recipes and as I read the entire book I fell in love with roasted vegetables. Andrea states that "this is a book for vegetable lovers....roasting vegetables brings out their hidden sweet, nutty flavors-making them extra ordinarily appealing and wonderously versatile."
A definition of roasting is that it is a dry-heat method of cooking. Items are cooked at a fairly high temperature without liquids or sauces. Just using oil or butter as a coating. You need a large shallow roasting pan, or a half sheet pan, on which to roast the vegetables until they are brown and tender.
An excellent chart with specific information such as the vegetable name, specific instructions about preparation, and a time frame needed for roasting is included in the book.
Here is a sampling of some of the recipes with Andrea's comments:
Roasted Garlic: Easy to do, and it can be stored or used in a variety of dishes.
Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs: Delicious. She suggests using fingerling potatoes because of their shape.
Herbed Summer Squash: This is a perfect potluck recipe.
Roasted Whole Cherry Tomatoes: Tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and the fresh herbs used, especially basil, is a perfect match for tomatoes.
Fall Vegetable Tart: This is it! The cover photograph and the real tart are perfect! Great taste, texture and fun to fix.
This cookbook also includes recipes for main dishes, sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, and pastries. You'll enjoy it, and I suspect you'll forever be a roasted vegetable lover!
The Roasted Vegetable
Publisher: The Harvard Common Press, Boston, MA
Price: $12.95
Reviewed by Sandy Bosworth
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Julia's Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child with David Nussbaum
Required reading? Absolutely? Learn food preparation and cooking techniques from Julia Child.
Julia's Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child with David Nussbaum provides answers to many of our food preparation questions. For example, have you ever want to know:
"What is the perfect way to roast a chicken?"
"Why should one dredge food in a light coating of flour before sautˇing?"
"Why should bread dough "rest" before shaping?"
Solutions to these questions and other "best" cooking techniques are discussed in each chapter of Julia's Kitchen Wisdom. A master recipe is used to illustrate each technique in this book. Julia suggests that one should add your own ideas to these recipes to create fantastic entree, vegetable, bread, soup, or dessert.
I have chosen three items that Julia is enthusiastic about to share with you:
1.Hydroponic lettuce (found in a bag with the root attached)
Julia suggests that one way to keep washed greens fresh is to clean them, to pack the leaves loosely in a plastic bag with some sheets of paper towel, and to refrigerate.
The greens will stay fresh for two to three days.
2.Meat, poultry, and fish
The technique of sauteing is the quickest and easiest way to cook all meats. Julia's directions for sauteing are: "You pat it dry, plop it into a hot pan, cook it rapidly on one side, then the other, until it is nicely browned and just done."
She includes an excellent recipe for sauteed beefsteaks and answers the question - when is it done? "Test rapidly and often, since meat can overcook very quickly. Press it with your finger. If it feels squashy, like raw meat, it is very rare. As it cooks it becomes springy-when lightly springy it is medium, and if there is no spring it is well done."
3.Bread
Julia describes and gives us a recipe for basic white bread. Julia discusses kneading, resting, temperature, and how to form loaves. She answers the question - when is the bread done? The loaves should feel light, they should make a pleasant thump when tapped, but they are not done until an instant-read thermometer, left in for several seconds, reads 200 degrees F. A recipe for basic white bread is used to illustrate these techniques
Julia Child doesn't miss a beat in expertly sharing the knowledge and techniques she has developed over the years.
Julia's Kitchen Wisdom
Publisher: Alfred A. Knoph 2000
Price: $19.95
Reviewed by Sandy Bosworth
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Virginia, being one of the oldest colonies and states in America, has a history that spans many centuries, entails many events, and follows many cultural trends. Virginia has been home to many great people who have shaped and influenced the history of the state in which they lived.
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Written by Alexis K. Brown
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As a place of socializing, getting a good meal, or just throwing back a few drinks, taverns in Colonial Williamsburg, as in the rest of Colonial America, were a vital part to the culture of the city.
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Written by Laura Pitotti
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