NYS Library Blog

The fourth recipe in this series of Family History Recipes comes from Bridget. She chose to share with us Lucretia’s Spinach Dip. 

Bridget was a little jumbled up on exactly how she and Lucretia are related, stating that Lucretia is her “mom’s cousin (my second cousin? Family trees are weird)” and she’s not wrong! Sometimes the relationship lines can get confusing. 

It truly doesn’t matter though because in the end, this dip, which should be served with “baked nacho cheese Doritos” (if you can find them, we couldn’t) was absolutely delicious! Taste Tester Owen might be new to Tasting History but he jumped in with enthusiasm. His smile and thumbs up really hammer home how happy he was with this yummy recipe! 

Recipe: Lucretia’s Spinach Dip

Here’s my mom’s cousin’s (my second cousin’s? Family trees are weird) recipe for spinach dip which was a staple at every party my family has ever thrown. Traditionally served with baked nacho cheese Doritos (weird but yum--I honestly don’t even know if they sell these anymore). --Bridget 

Ingredients: 

• 1 package chopped spinach, cooked and with water wrung out
• 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, full fat or ELSE
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 tbsp. bacon bits (measure with your heart)
• ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• ½ tsp. cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

Combine and microwave 6-8 minutes, stopping and stirring every 2 minutes. Serve warm with chips of your choice, baked nacho cheese Doritos are ideal but any tortilla chip works.

The NYS Library and the Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting are excited to announce an opportunity to learn about and celebrate the beloved children’s television show Reading Rainbow.  

Creating Reading Rainbow: Online Panel Discussion on October 10  

Reading Rainbow premiered in 1983 and reached an audience of 6.5 million young viewers in its first season. It went on to become one of the longest running and most impactful PBS children’s television series, and it endures in the hearts and minds of readers everywhere. It earned 26 Emmys and a Peabody award, but most importantly, it helped generations of children cultivate a love of reading.

Please join us for an online panel discussion with the authors of the recently published book Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children's Series. Panelists will answer audience questions and share stories and video clips detailing the origin and growth of this classic television series for readers.

If you have a question for the panelists, please include it when you register. Each registrant will be entered for a chance to receive a packet of Reading Rainbow branded promotional materials. This event has a registration limit of 500 and we anticipate high participation numbers--be sure to register early!

Register for Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children's Series 

Our third Family History Recipe comes from Jesse and is for Bo Brown’s Maryland Crab Cakes. 

Jesse shared that his father had been “adopted at an early age, and his mother was a nurse who pulled long shifts, so he was often left to fend for himself for meals.  He ended up learning to cook on his own…  He became famous among family and friends for his delicious crab cakes.  He would make them for me, along with sweet corn-on-the-cob and sliced beefsteak tomatoes, for the best birthday meal a Maryland boy… could possibly have.”

Jesse also said that his father never wrote down his recipes, so this was Jesse’s best attempt to recreate the crab cakes. Taste Tester Mike didn’t seem to mind whether this was original or not. He thought they were delicious! 

Recipe: Bo Brown’s Maryland Crab Cakes

My father was adopted at an early age, and his mother was a nurse who pulled long shifts, so he was often left to fend for himself for meals.  He ended up learning to cook on his own, and he loved to try making new dishes with little more than a few ingredients and a hunch.  He became famous among family and friends for his delicious crab cakes.  He would make them for me, along with sweet corn-on-the-cob and sliced beefsteak tomatoes, for the best birthday meal a Maryland boy… could possibly have.

Unfortunately, he passed away never having wrote down any of his recipes.  Therefore, I’ve had to try and reconstruct his crabcakes from other recipes and personal memory.  The following is my best approximation, but in keeping with Dad’s tradition, this should be considered a “work-in-progress.”  --Jesse 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, picked over
• 20 saltine crackers, finely crushed
• 1/4 cup canola oil or other neutral, high-heat cooking oil

Directions: 

• In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Old Bay until smooth.
• In a medium bowl, lightly toss the crabmeat with the cracker crumbs. Gently fold in the mayonnaise mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Scoop the crab mixture into eight 1/3-cup mounds; lightly pack into 8 patties, about 1 1/2 inches thick. In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the crab cakes and cook over moderately high heat until deeply golden and heated through, about 3 minutes per side. 
• Transfer the crab cakes to plates and serve with lemon wedges. 

(Adapted from Andrew Zimmern's Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes)

Update: The Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program grant application will be released soon. In order to apply, applicants will need to have a Memorandum of Agreement with the Dollywood Foundation for participation as a Local Program Partner in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library by the application deadline.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a community-based program mailing free, high-quality, age-appropriate books to registered children from birth until their 5th birthday, no matter their income. Local Program Partners enroll children within their selected community and pay, on average, $2.20 per child/per month towards wholesale book and mailing costs.

To encourage participation in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program, The New York State Legislature has appropriated $500,000 to be awarded through a competitive grant program.

Funds will be available to libraries, library systems, non-profits, school districts, and BOCES in New York State. Individual grants will be limited to a maximum of $49,000 to pay up to 50% of a Local Program Partner’s costs from the Imagination Library.  

Please visit the Imagination Library website for more information on the book gifting program and the process to become a Local Program Partner. We encourage any organization interested in becoming a Partner to begin the process prior to the grant application announcement.  

The grant application announcement and guidelines will be posted to the Division of Library Development website once released. You may also sign up for the NYLINE list, where the announcement will be shared by email.

Questions may be sent to NYSLImaginationLibrary@nysed.gov. 

The second recipe in this series comes from Jamie. She decided to share Raisin Drop Cookies. 

Jamie had this to say about the recipe: 

“This was a recipe I found in my gram’s recipe box, which had been passed on to my aunt. While I don’t remember her making these, they sounded like an interesting mix of ingredients. If there’s anything Tasting History has taught me it’s that sometimes the weirder it sounds the tastier it will be!”

The interesting ingredient Jamie saw in this recipe was crushed cornflakes. Not that that mattered to Taste Tester Josh! He loved these cookies and swore you couldn’t taste the cornflakes. With that emphatic thumbs up, I definitely believe him! 

Recipe: Raisin Drop Cookies 

This was a recipe I found in my gram’s recipe box, which had been passed on to my aunt. While I don’t remember her making these, they sounded like an interesting mix of ingredients. If there’s anything Tasting History has taught me it’s that sometimes the weirder it sounds the tastier it will be! --Jamie 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup seedless raisins
• ½ cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cup sifted flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 cups crushed corn flakes
• 1 cup shredded coconut

Directions: 

• Cream butter and sugar
• Stir in beaten eggs
• Sift flour with soda and blend into cream mixture
• Stir in vanilla, raisins, cornflakes and coconut
• Drop by teaspoonful two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet
• Bake at 350-375 for 12-15 minutes

Autobots, roll out…. and sign up for a library card today! Did you know that September is Library Card Sign-up Month? This year, The American Library Association has partnered with companies such as Skybound, Hasbro, and Image Comics to create Transformers themed supplies and graphics such as bookmarks, library cards, and posters in English and Spanish which feature art by Marz Jr. 

Be sure to check out the ALA Toolkit for even more ideas to help your library and community celebrate and promote library card sign up and use via social media graphics and templates.  

Whether you’re a student, teacher, parent, or just a book lover, your local library holds an arsenal of resources. By signing up for and using your library card, borrowers can upgrade their reading skills, expand their knowledge, and connect with other readers. ALA’s Transformers themed supplies are an effective way for libraries to encourage those in the community to sign up for a library card and become more involved in their local library. 

Our first Family History Recipe for Krakelingen comes from Jane. 

Jane said that this “is a Dutch recipe my family makes during the holidays. It comes from my Opa, Dutch for grandfather.  This is one of several recipes passed down from him through my mother. My mother and her parents immigrated to the US in the 1950s. My Opa owned a bakery in Orange County, NY where he sold these cookies.”

Using just butter, flour, water, egg white, and sugar, these cookies were super light and crisp! You don’t have to take my word for it, after a quick sniff test, a very happy Taste Tester Mike finished his Krakelingen quickly. 

Recipe: Krakelingen (Dutch butter cookie in the shape of figure 8)

This is a Dutch recipe my family makes during the holidays. It comes from my Opa, Dutch for grandfather. This is one of several recipes passed down from him through my mother. My mother and her parents immigrated to the US in the 1950s. My Opa owned a bakery in Orange County, NY where he sold these cookies.  --Jane 

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups butter 
• 4 cups flour
•  ½ cup water
• Egg white
• Sugar

Directions: 

Cut butter into flour. Gradually stir in water forming a dough similar to pastry. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 375F. Roll small amount of dough into a pencil shape, bring ends together and twist like figure eight. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Brush with egg white wash. Dip both sides in sugar. Bake until brown on bottom, for about 10 minutes. 

Makes 6 dozen