NYS Library Blog

Our fifth Family History Recipe comes from Caroline and is for a traditional French Canadian meat pie, officially called “Tourtiere.” 

Caroline’s mom was “born in Quebec, Canada… and has been eating this pie her entire life. My mother’s family was not wealthy by any means, so a tourtiere, which contains simple and somewhat cheap ingredients… was a staple recipe.” 

Simple and cheap, sure, but this pie was also hearty and delicious! Taste Tester Josh was all business as he dove into trying his slice of tourtiere. The filling was flavorful and the crust crisp. Josh barely had time to give a thumbs up before he went back to finishing his portion.

Recipe: Tourtiere

A little bit about the dish: My mom was born in Quebec, Canada in 1958 and has been eating this pie her entire life. My mother’s family was not wealthy by any means, so a tourtiere, which contains simple and somewhat cheap ingredients, (historically, tourtieres were made with minced meat and meat scraps) it was made with minced meat and was a staple recipe. Generally, French Canadians will bake anywhere from 5-10 pies at one time, as they can be frozen and preserved for a later time. - Caroline 

Ingredients: 

• 4 celery ribs
• 4 medium carrots
• 2 large onions
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 4 pounds ground pork
• 2 pounds ground veal
• 2 pounds bulk pork sausage
• 1 can (14 ½ oz) chicken broth
• ½ cup minced parsley 
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground mace
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• Dough for 4 double-crust pies

Directions: 

• Coarsely chop celery, carrots and onions; place in a food processor with garlic. Cover and process until finely chopped; set aside.
• In a stockpot or two Dutch ovens, cook vegetables, pork, veal and sausage until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in broth, parsley and seasonings. Cover and cook over low heat 20 minutes. Stir in breadcrumbs.
• Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough into four 1/8-in.-thick circles; transfer to four 9-in. pie plates. Trim even with rims. Add about 4 cups filling to each crust. Roll remaining dough into four 1/8-in.-thick circles. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in tops.
• Cover edges of pies loosely with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Remove foil and bake pies until crusts are golden brown, 15-20 minutes longer.
     

Makes 4 pies 
(Adapted from Taste of Home's French Canadian Tourtieres) 
 

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.

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)

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

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

Tasting History is back once again! 

For this series, we’ve done something different. Participants were asked to bring in recipes from their family histories! Some brought in recipes that reflect the distant past of their family trees and some brought in recipes they grew up on.

Why family recipes? 

The NYS Library is a treasure chest of resources for those tracing their family histories! We have genealogies, local histories, church records, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) records, United States and New York State Census records, newspapers on microfilm, city directories, and more. 

So, whether you’re on a family research adventure of your own or you just want to see what recipes show up this series, be sure to follow along as we share our Family History Recipes!