The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady

Lucy Murphy’s Jefferson Davis Pie This pie, named in honor of the president of the Confederacy, is a fruit-filled, spiced version of the chess pie (above). Lucy’s recipe includes granulated sugar and adds a meringue; other Jeff Davis recipes use brown sugar and omit the meringue. Perhaps it is better not to worry about the “historicity” of these recipes. Anne Carter Zimmer, in her commentary in The Robert E. Lee Family Cooking and Housekeeping Book (p. 131), remarks, “I began to realize that receipts [recipes] are a kind of folklore. Like folktales, they are recreated each time they are made or told, and each time they can be—and often are—changed by the taste and times of the maker.”

? cup softened butter 1? cups sugar

4 egg yolks

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

? teaspoon allspice

? teaspoon cloves

1 cup whipping cream

? cup chopped dates

? cup raisins

? cup coarsely chopped pecans Unbaked 9-inch pie shell MERINGUE

4 egg whites

? cup sugar

Preheat oven to 300oF. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, then add the flour and spices and mix until combined. Add the cream, dates, raisins, and pecans, mix well, and pour into the pie shell. Bake until set but still slightly soft in the middle, about 40 minutes.

To add the meringue: Remove the pie and increase the oven heat to 350oF. Beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until the meringue forms firm peaks. Spread over the baked pie, sealing it to the crimped edges of the shell. Bake until golden brown. Serve at room temperature.





The Dahlias’ Household Magic


A Baker’s Dozen Ways to Do It Easier, Faster, Better





    To keep cake moist, always put a good sound apple in the cake box or tin. And lemons can be kept almost indefinitely if you put them in a glass canning jar with a tight lid.

    A teaspoon of borax in the last rinse will whiten clothes surprisingly.

    Keep ants out of the pantry by placing fresh sage leaves on the shelves.

    Potatoes will bake faster if you put them in hot water for about 15 minutes before they go in the oven.

    When you buy celery, wash the leaves and dry them until they can be rubbed to a powder. Use to add a nice celery flavor to stews, soups, meat loaf, etc.

    If you have a worn-out tablecloth that you can’t darn any longer, cut it into squares, hem, and—voilà!—you have napkins.

    To make your cook stove shine more easily, add a little turpentine to your stove polish.

    To clean copper-bottom pans, rub with a mixture of salt, fine sand, flour, and vinegar.

    If the electricity hasn’t got to your house yet and you’re still using kerosene lamps, soak your lamp wicks in vinegar and let them dry before using. They will be less likely to smoke.

    To trap the flies that invade your kitchen, you’ll need a canning jar, a funnel, some bait (fruit, bit of leftover), and 2–3 small blocks of wood. Put the bait in the jar, insert the funnel, and turn the jar and funnel upside down on the wood blocks. The flies will crawl in through the opening beneath the jar and the funnel and be easily trapped.

    If you’re grinding aromatic or strongly flavored spices, run a half cup of rice through the grinder afterward, to remove the flavor and scent.

    For a nice substitute for crackers, croutons, and breadsticks, roll out a pie crust, slice the pastry into narrow strips, sprinkle with salt, and bake.

    When you’re picking parsley from the garden, pick from the center. Those are flavorful leaves, and you’ll help keep the plant from bolting.