Latest / Family Tree Food Stories / Revolutionary War Recipes You Can Cook at Home: Part #4 of our American Revolution Food Series

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Revolutionary War Recipes You Can Cook at Home: Part #4 of our American Revolution Food Series · Family Tree Food Stories

• 0:05
  . Nancy A. May: Hello, everybody.
• 0:06
  Welcome back to another episode of Family Tree Food and Stories, where
• 0:09
  every single dish has a little bit of history and certainly a story.
• 0:13
  I'm Nancy May, or Fancy Nancy, as we've been saying behind the scenes, your host
• 0:19
  Sylvia France: And I'm Sylvia Frantz, your co-host
• 0:21
  Nancy A. May: Yes, you're fancy too, darling.
• 0:24
  So Sylvia, before we launch into this week's show, I'd love to give
• 0:27
  a quick shout-out to a few folks who are listening to our show.
• 0:31
  We've got a great following, and especially in Ashburn, Virginia,
• 0:35
  Council Bluffs, Iowa, and some of the great folks in St. Petersburg,
• 0:40
  our home state of Florida, are among those and many others around the world
• 0:45
  Sylvia France: We are thrilled that you're joining us each episode,
• 0:48
  and we look forward to giving a shout-out to more of you next week.
• 0:52
  Nancy A. May: Absolutely
• 0:53
  Sylvia France: So today, Nancy, honestly, I've got every single burner on our stove
• 0:58
  firing at once, and the oven is actively starting to give off a lot of heat.
• 1:02
  It's going to be an absolute barn burner and madhouse around here today
• 1:08
  Nancy A. May: It sure is.
• 1:09
  But before we start stirring up our pots, would you do us a favor and head
• 1:13
  on over to podcast.familytreefoodstories, give us a quick review, and
• 1:19
  four stars please, smile, smile.
• 1:22
  And share this episode with someone who loves to cook and loves a good
• 1:26
  story, and wants to know where the food they ate today or yesterday came from.
• 1:31
  We're right here every week with a brand-new episode dropping
• 1:34
  every single Thursday morning
• 1:36
  Sylvia France: So our big America 250 birthday grand finale, we decided to
• 1:41
  stop talking about the history and stories of what everyone ate and bring it
• 1:45
  straight into our modern actual kitchens
• 1:48
  Nancy A. May: Yes, that's correct.
• 1:49
  We are doing a marathon of cooking, a full day of it, of Revolutionary War
• 1:54
  comfort food, from morning breakfast to an evening meal, and sharing how you can
• 1:59
  make sure that you can enjoy exactly what old George ate and others during that time
• 2:06
  Sylvia France: And I don't want you to worry.
• 2:07
  You don't need to hunt down weird, obscure ingredients from 1776 because everything
• 2:13
  we're making is shockingly simple
• 2:15
  Nancy A. May: It really is.
• 2:16
  And if you have cornmeal, peanut butter, yes peanut butter, chicken,
• 2:22
  some macaroni noodles, some navy beans, and a few apples in your pantry
• 2:26
  right now, you can cook the exact same menu that we're making here today.
• 2:30
  And you know what, Sylvia?
• 2:32
  Sylvia France: What?
• 2:33
  Nancy A. May: It turns out that the instinct to cook your way
• 2:36
  through stressful times hasn't changed that much in 250 years
• 2:40
  Sylvia France: Oh, absolutely But before we start chopping, glasses
• 2:45
  up What are we drinking today?
• 2:47
  Nancy A. May: Well, our tradition now is a toast, but today we're
• 2:51
  just drinking black coffee, a mug of it, maybe, maybe a whole pot of it.
• 2:56
  Because it's not 5:00 in paradise just yet, and we have some serious
• 3:01
  cooking ahead of us, Sylvia
• 3:03
  Sylvia France: Well, it's always 5:00 somewhere, but fair enough.
• 3:07
  A toast to comfort food then.
• 3:09
  Whatever chaos is going on outside, we still boil, saute, and
• 3:13
  bake to feel a little bit better
• 3:15
  Nancy A. May: That's correct.
• 3:17
  And 250 years apart, that part just hasn't changed that much.
• 3:22
  So what do you say, Sylvia, that we just roll up our sleeves, put
• 3:25
  on the aprons, and get cooking?
• 3:27
  Sylvia France: I'm ready, so let's go
• 3:30
  Nancy A. May: so my cast iron is heating up and I'm handling the
• 3:34
  morning shift with two absolute classics hoecakes and peanut soup
• 3:40
  Sylvia France: I can't wait for this.
• 3:42
  Can you explain a hoecake for everyone who hasn't had the pleasure to try one?
• 3:47
  Nancy A. May: Absolutely.
• 3:48
  I haven't had the pleasure yet either, so we're gonna taste that with you.
• 3:52
  think of it as a thick, deep, savory cornmeal pancake where the edges get
• 3:57
  crispy in the grease, lard in that day and age, maybe a little bit butter today.
• 4:02
  and George Washington ate these every single morning of his life.
• 4:06
  They were just swimming in butter and honey
• 4:08
  Sylvia France: I wonder if it was the back, the backstroke
• 4:10
  that they were swimming in
• 4:11
  Nancy A. May: Right?
• 4:13
  Sylvia France: but it sounds perfect to me.
• 4:15
  And what's the secret batter?
• 4:17
  Nancy A. May: So It's just white cornmeal.
• 4:19
  This batch of cornmeal actually came from our good friend Steve Melton over
• 4:23
  in Dade City, with a pinch of salt, a little bit of sourdough starter, or
• 4:28
  if you don't have that, you can try active dry yeast, and boiling water.
• 4:32
  And that's it
• 4:34
  Sylvia France: there's no flour in these hoecakes?
• 4:37
  Nancy A. May: Nope, no flour at all, which you typically have in pancakes.
• 4:40
  You just scald the cornmeal with a little boiling water, add the starter,
• 4:45
  and make it into a thick paste.
• 4:47
  It's totally foolproof.
• 4:49
  You know, even Ben Franklin was obsessed with them.
• 4:52
  however, rumor has it that Ben preferred his with a glass or two of Madeira wine
• 4:58
  on the side, even early in the morning
• 5:01
  Sylvia France: but it is classic Franklin.
• 5:04
  Now, you have to address the forklore.
• 5:07
  Did people actually bake these on the back of a literal garden hoe?
• 5:12
  Nancy A. May: Well, yes and no.
• 5:13
  You see, enslaved laborers working out in the fields absolutely did
• 5:17
  use garden hoes or the iron garden hoes often in front of, often over
• 5:23
  fire pits out of sheer necessity.
• 5:25
  But our friend Steve pointed out in his research, the big estate kitchens,
• 5:30
  well, the hoe was just actually another term for an old flat iron grill.
• 5:36
  But can you hear that sizzling, Sylvia?
• 5:38
  Sylvia France: I can.
• 5:39
  It sounds beautiful.
• 5:40
  Music to my ears
• 5:42
  Nancy A. May: Now, while these fry up, I'm gonna knock out some
• 5:45
  colonial peanut soup right next to it
• 5:48
  Sylvia France: Peanut soup for breakfast?
• 5:50
  That sounds kind of weird to me, Nancy.
• 5:52
  It sounds more like dessert
• 5:55
  Nancy A. May: Well, it was one of George's favorites.
• 5:56
  So I promise you it's not sweet like hoecake syrup.
• 6:00
  It's actually deeply savory, earthy, and totally velvety
• 6:06
  Sylvia France: How are you making this so fast?
• 6:08
  Nancy A. May: Well, if you only have a few minutes, this is the
• 6:11
  way you do it, and that's typically the way it was made back then.
• 6:14
  You just quickly whisk in smooth unsweetened peanut butter.
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  Remember, don't get the kind at the grocery store that has sugar in
• 6:21
  it, and put that directly into some hot boiling chicken stock with some
• 6:26
  minced celery and onions, although I recommend you saute up those celery
• 6:30
  and onions first before you put them in
• 6:32
  Sylvia France: So was that crunchy peanut butter or smooth peanut butter?
• 6:36
  And was that really it?
• 6:38
  Nancy A. May: It was smooth peanut butter.
• 6:40
  Now, you add a splash of heavy cream just to smooth it out even more so.
• 6:45
  And in the end, it takes about 15 minutes
• 6:48
  Sylvia France: That sounds awesome and it smells incredible already but
• 6:52
  the history behind this one is heavy
• 6:55
  Nancy A. May: It really is.
• 6:56
  At Mount Vernon, an enslaved chef named Hercules Posey ran the entire
• 7:01
  kitchen operation for George.
• 7:03
  You know, we talked about him and how he brilliantly walked out on George's
• 7:07
  birthday to get his own freedom that one was in the last episode.
• 7:12
  However, Hercules was a genuine culinary celebrity of the day, and
• 7:17
  peanut soup itself really evolved from the West African peanut stews brought
• 7:21
  over and adapted by enslaved people
• 7:24
  Sylvia France: That's a vital reminder.
• 7:26
  The bedrock of American cuisine was built by the genius of Black chefs.
• 7:30
  Nancy A. May: Yes, it was.
• 7:31
  And on that note, my hoe cakes are ready to be flipped, and the soup is thickening
• 7:36
  up, and breakfast is officially served.
• 7:39
  Grab your spoon
• 7:40
  Sylvia France: I am for sure
• 7:43
  Nancy A. May: Okay, so, now that we're done cleaning up breakfast, we're gonna
• 7:46
  fast-forward and clock into midday.
• 7:49
  The kitchen is officially smelling like roasted chicken and bubbling cheese
• 7:55
  Sylvia France: Welcome to lunch, which fun fact, was actually the biggest,
• 7:58
  heaviest meal of the day in 1776.
• 8:01
  It was usually served around 2:30 in the afternoon
• 8:05
  Nancy A. May: You know, That's perfect timing because I have a
• 8:07
  gorgeous spatchcock chicken resting right here on the cutting board.
• 8:12
  I think the name spatchcock was invented by some guy somewhere
• 8:15
  Sylvia France: I'm sure it was.
• 8:17
  So can you tell them about the technique?
• 8:19
  Your Bob actually taught us this one, right?
• 8:22
  Nancy A. May: He did, and swears by it.
• 8:24
  And I won't touch it.
• 8:26
  Sylvia France: Smart girl.
• 8:26
  Let him do the work.
• 8:28
  Nancy A. May: You just cut the backbone out completely out of the whole chicken
• 8:31
  and press it flat, or in my case, I would say smash it flat, and throw it
• 8:35
  into a hot cast iron pan skin side up
• 8:38
  Sylvia France: Is smashed a real culinary term?
• 8:41
  I don't think
• 8:42
  Nancy A. May: In my book it is.
• 8:45
  Sylvia France: But I understand it cuts your roasting time right in half.
• 8:48
  If you don't have a Bob to help you with your spatchcocking, you can buy a
• 8:53
  whole chicken, at most meat departments at grocery stores such as Publix
• 8:57
  will remove the backbone for free.
• 8:59
  All you have to do is ask.
• 9:01
  And ask also to keep the backbone so you can make homemade bone broth later.
• 9:06
  Even Trader Joe's has a rosemary lemon spatchcock chicken
• 9:10
  which gets amazing reviews
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  Nancy A. May: Hmm.
• 9:13
  And with spatchcocking, you get a maximum crispy skin and the
• 9:17
  breast stays incredibly juicy.
• 9:19
  So before you put it in, though, just rub it down with butter, a little
• 9:22
  salt and pepper, some fresh thyme, and for a little extra flavor, throw some
• 9:27
  roasted garlic right under the skin
• 9:30
  Sylvia France: It looks absolutely amazing but check this out I have
• 9:35
  some macaroni and cheese that I just pulled out of the oven
• 9:39
  Nancy A. May: Whoa, that looks pretty amazing.
• 9:41
  It's golden and crispy and bubbling all on the top, Sylvia.
• 9:45
  It's spectacular, and it smells delicious.
• 9:48
  Now, people think that mac and cheese is this modern processed box, orange
• 9:53
  and gold, you know, Kraft, but that is pure fork lore, our term again.
• 9:59
  however, We owe this exact classic, to Thomas Jefferson and his brilliant
• 10:04
  enslaved chef, James Hemings.
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  You see, Hemings trained under the finest master chefs in Paris,
• 10:10
  ooh la la, and brought those elite French techniques back to Virginia.
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  That's the Fancy Nancy part.
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  Sylvia France: Oui, oui.
• 10:19
  And for the sauce today, I went full Heming style.
• 10:22
  I started with a classic French béchamel, just a simple butter and
• 10:26
  flour roux cooked with warm milk.
• 10:29
  Then I loaded it with freshly grated Parmesan, mozzarella, and Romano cheese.
• 10:34
  I tossed a whole box of cooked elbow noodles in the baking pan and poured the
• 10:39
  sauce right over it with a little butter
• 10:42
  Nancy A. May: So I got a question for you, Sylvia.
• 10:45
  This one I'm a little skeptical on.
• 10:47
  Did James Hemings actually use those specific cheeses, Parmesan,
• 10:52
  mozzarella, and Ro- and Romano?
• 10:53
  I mean, really, this is colonial times
• 10:56
  Sylvia France: Absolutely he did.
• 10:57
  I pulled an exact recipe directly from the National Archives of Thomas Jefferson.
• 11:03
  Hemings was sourcing these European cheeses to recreate the high-end
• 11:07
  dishes he mastered in France
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  Nancy A. May: You know, that's amazing.
• 11:10
  and then you just put it all together and it just bubbles
• 11:13
  up in about eight to 10 minutes?
• 11:15
  Sylvia France: I'll use what the boys said when they were
• 11:17
  little, easy cheesy is what it is.
• 11:20
  James,
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  Nancy A. May: I love that
• 11:22
  Sylvia France: James Hemings' exact 1700s technique is literally how we make
• 11:26
  gourmet homemade mac and cheese today.
• 11:29
  Jefferson just gets the credit because he wrote it down in his own records
• 11:33
  Nancy A. May: Okay, now while your Southern table is looking fantastic
• 11:37
  with mac and cheese, we can't leave out my old home stomping grounds of
• 11:42
  New England for dinner, of course.
• 11:45
  What do you have brewing in that Crockpot over there?
• 11:48
  Sylvia France: You know, I would never leave New England out.
• 11:51
  so what I made today was a true northern staple.
• 11:54
  authentic Revolutionary War-style New England baked beans
• 11:59
  Nancy A. May: wow, the molasses smells just incredible.
• 12:02
  Now, I've never made baked beans myself other than opening a can, but
• 12:07
  how long have these been cooking?
• 12:09
  Sylvia France: Literally all night.
• 12:11
  In colonial New England, especially around Boston, these were traditionally started
• 12:15
  on Friday night and baked low and slow in a brick oven for Saturday dinner.
• 12:21
  You'd take dried navy beans, soak them, and then layer them in a pot of salt
• 12:26
  pork and dark molasses, a little mustard, and an onion stuck with whole cloves
• 12:32
  Nancy A. May: And then back then they didn't even have refined
• 12:34
  white sugar, so they used molasses as the ultimate flavor engine.
• 12:39
  Although I think I'm gonna ask Bob to make a brick oven for us in the back.
• 12:43
  Sylvia France: I'm sure he'll do it for you.
• 12:44
  But the salt pork melts completely into the beans over 12 hours, making
• 12:49
  them insanely rich, smoky, and sweet.
• 12:52
  It's pure northern survival food that became an absolute cultural classic
• 12:58
  Nancy A. May: Yeah, there are restaurants that have been named after that one.
• 13:01
  So I see you also brought out some serious side dishes to balance
• 13:04
  out some of that rich dairy and heavy molasses in the beans too
• 13:09
  Sylvia France: Oh, you know I have to.
• 13:11
  I've got a big heap of homemade sauerkraut and some crisp fermented
• 13:15
  pickles that I made myself.
• 13:17
  Just a little thyme, salt, and vinegar doing their magic.
• 13:21
  Though, full disclosure, the hardest part is remembering to burp the sauerkraut
• 13:26
  jar every day during the first week of fermentation so it doesn't explode
• 13:33
  Nancy A. May: Explode?
• 13:34
  Oh, boy.
• 13:35
  I can't imagine exploding sauerkraut in my kitchen.
• 13:38
  Now that's a bad day.
• 13:40
  but back then fermenting wasn't a trendy hobby.
• 13:44
  Now that makes me sound old.
• 13:47
  it was pure survival.
• 13:49
  It allowed families to store food for months and literally prevented
• 13:53
  scurvy during those brutal winters.
• 13:55
  You know, my sister out in Oklahoma is a big canner.
• 13:58
  I haven't done it.
• 13:59
  Actually, I shouldn't say that.
• 14:00
  I did it with my mom once, and we both decided we'd never do it again.
• 14:05
  Sylvia France: Well, the great thing about doing the pickles and the sauerkraut,
• 14:08
  you don't have to can anything.
• 14:09
  So literally you can make it in your pantry, a dark pantry, and
• 14:13
  also in your refrigerator as well.
• 14:15
  So there's none of that boiling and all that process.
• 14:18
  it's really, as I said earlier, easy cheesy.
• 14:22
  Nancy A. May: peasy . I'm gonna have to give it a try then
• 14:24
  Sylvia France: Yes.
• 14:25
  And the acidity cuts right through my rich bechamel sauce and the
• 14:29
  sweetness of those baked beans.
• 14:30
  It's a perfect match
• 14:33
  Nancy A. May: Okay, so my fork is getting ready or my fork is quivering
• 14:36
  at this point and I'm starving.
• 14:39
  So let's take a quick break before we pass out from a food
• 14:42
  coma and we'll be right back.
• 14:45
  Sylvia France: Don't go anywhere, guys.
• 14:46
  Dessert and real colonial whiskey are right on the other side.
• 14:57
  Nancy A. May: Woo-hoo!
• 14:58
  Okay, and we are back.
• 15:00
  The kitchen is open again, and it smells like cinnamon and
• 15:04
  warm brown sugar and dark fruits
• 15:07
  Sylvia France: I just finished up our dessert, a beautiful,
• 15:09
  deeply rustic apple pandowdy
• 15:13
  Nancy A. May: Hmm.
• 15:13
  Apple pandowdy?
• 15:14
  I haven't heard of that one although that's a pretty weird name.
• 15:17
  What exactly does pandowdy mean?
• 15:21
  Sylvia France: Well, It's basically the laid back, unpretentious
• 15:24
  cousin of the classic apple pie.
• 15:26
  There's no perfect rolling or crimping required.
• 15:30
  you just toss your sliced apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a
• 15:34
  splash of cider, and then drape a rustic pie dough right over the top
• 15:39
  Nancy A. May: Ooh, well, that sounds perfect for me because I
• 15:41
  am not good at making pie crust.
• 15:43
  and it sounds like my baking.
• 15:46
  Now, how does it actually get that unique bumpy texture?
• 15:49
  Sylvia France: Oh, this is the fun part.
• 15:51
  Halfway through the baking, you take a wooden spoon and literally smash down…
• 15:55
  the crust into the bubbling apple juices
• 15:58
  Nancy A. May: Ooh, that does sound, sound like fun.- So the dough just drinks up all
• 16:02
  that caramelized, apple cider and flavor.
• 16:05
  And hang, you might wanna pour a splash of whiskey in there too, or brandy.
• 16:09
  Sylvia France: But that's coming later.
• 16:10
  It becomes half crispy, half gooey.
• 16:13
  It was actually Abigail Adams' absolute favorite dessert, and
• 16:17
  I used her personal recipe today
• 16:20
  Nancy A. May: Ooh, I love Abby, right?
• 16:22
  It looks incredible,
• 16:23
  Sylvia France: Don't forget the ladies
• 16:25
  Nancy A. May: absolutely we won't.
• 16:27
  We owe them.
• 16:29
  Anyway, while that cools down, it's time for my personal grand finale
• 16:35
  Sylvia France: Whoa!
• 16:36
  Hold on.
• 16:37
  A massive wave of rich spice hit me What is that, Nancy?
• 16:43
  Nancy A. May: That, my friend, is George Washington's actual personal
• 16:47
  favorite recipe for cherry bounce.
• 16:50
  I f- I love that name, right?
• 16:52
  I followed his handwritten archives to the T
• 16:56
  Sylvia France: I am curious, how long has that been hiding in your
• 17:00
  pantry and you haven't touched it?
• 17:02
  Nancy A. May: Well, that's the hard part.
• 17:04
  Because we knew this episode was coming, so I had to prepare for it.
• 17:07
  It takes three full months.
• 17:09
  So you pack dark cherries, Bob pitted them all, and you smash
• 17:14
  them with sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon into a massive glass jars.
• 17:17
  Pack it really tight, and then just let it sit
• 17:21
  Sylvia France: And then just drown it in alcohol
• 17:24
  Nancy A. May: Yeah.
• 17:24
  Yeah, before you close the lid for three months, you drown it in a good amount
• 17:28
  of rye whiskey or brandy, and then you just let time do the heavy lifting.
• 17:34
  Washington was so obsessed with this stuff that he literally ordered a
• 17:38
  traveler's flask of cherry bounce to be packed for his military marches.
• 17:44
  I'm wondering how he managed to stay on his horse all those days, right?
• 17:50
  Sylvia France: in this kitchen right now, I completely understand why one sip of
• 17:54
  that will help you survive Valley Forge.
• 17:57
  Let's pour a drop purely for experimental purposes, obviously
• 18:04
  Nancy A. May: Obviously not.
• 18:05
  Mm, glug, glug, glug, glug.
• 18:07
  Oh, wow.
• 18:08
  That is beautiful and has a serious kick to it.
• 18:11
  It's amazing.
• 18:12
  I might wanna get on a horse after this one.
• 18:15
  Right?
• 18:15
  Sylvia France: Oh man, the cherries completely smooth
• 18:18
  out the burn of the whiskey.
• 18:19
  It literally tastes like a warm blanket
• 18:22
  Nancy A. May: it does.
• 18:23
  That liquid heat going down your chest, it just tastes like history.
• 18:27
  And dinner.
• 18:28
  So we've covered breakfast and what we called supper or lunch around 2:30.
• 18:34
  But dinner, well, dinner time wasn't a big deal back in 1776.
• 18:39
  It was just typically a light snack or some leftovers or just maybe
• 18:44
  an extra glass of cherry bounce to tide you over until breakfast the
• 18:48
  next morning, or make you go to sleep
• 18:50
  Sylvia France: Looking at this entire table right now, Nancy, the hoecakes,
• 18:53
  the peanut soup, the spatchcock chicken, the mac and cheese, the baked beans,
• 18:57
  and the cherry bounce it just hits me
• 19:00
  Nancy A. May: How's that?
• 19:01
  Sylvia France: Well, 1776 wasn't just an abstract history textbook
• 19:05
  filled with pristine white rooms and men in perfect powdered wigs
• 19:10
  Nancy A. May: No, I think their wigs were a little dusty.
• 19:13
  Not at all, actually.
• 19:14
  history was lived by real, ordinary, deeply stressed out people who were
• 19:20
  actively fighting for survival, their liberty, and yes, ours.
• 19:24
  Tired soldiers, anxious families, and brilliant enslaved chefs
• 19:29
  Sylvia France: Exactly when the world felt completely upside down, they walked into
• 19:33
  a kitchen or tended a hearth fire just to find a single moment of peace and to
• 19:38
  taste something that tasted like safety
• 19:41
  Nancy A. May: And 250 years later, you know, here we are in
• 19:43
  our kitchens, induction stove and all, doing the exact same thing
• 19:49
  Sylvia France: Thank you all so much for cooking through history
• 19:51
  with us for our America 250 finale
• 19:54
  … Nancy A. May: All the recipes and, easy step-by-step guides from today's marathon
• 19:58
  are waiting for you in the show notes at Podcast.FamilyTreeFoodStories.com.
• 20:04
  So try one tonight or maybe over the weekend, and you can literally
• 20:08
  taste what the past was like
• 20:10
  Sylvia France: Next Thursday, we are switching gears to keep
• 20:13
  cool in this brutal Florida heat during the dog days of summer.
• 20:17
  We've got some delightful summer salads, grilled specialties, and believe it or
• 20:21
  not, maybe a homemade dog biscuit recipe or two for BB and the mighty Quinn.
• 20:27
  Nancy A. May: The mighty queen, yes it's hot everywhere in our country
• 20:32
  literally and figuratively I can't wait.
• 20:34
  So happy cooking everyone
• 20:36
  Sylvia France: And happy experimenting.
• 20:38
  We'll see you next Thursday
• 20:40
  Nancy A. May: Take care.
• 20:40
  Bye-bye.