Veal Loaf
July 2nd, 2008
Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery Vol. 7
1966
My friend Teresa found this entire Encyclopedia at her town dump in New Jersey and, knowing my fondness for old cookbooks, did me the great favor of hauling all 12volumes back to her house. I’m so sad that she’s not in Brooklyn any more, I miss her every day. But I if she continues to dig up cookbook treasures it softens the blow of her absence. I had seen these books over the years at garage sales and flea markets and always passed them over for books that seemed more interesting like The Congressional Club Cookbook. What a huge mistake, these books are amazing. They are a condensed version of the Time Life Foods of the World Series, with each volume containing little mini-cookbooks that represent different countries, mixed with the Time Life Good Cook series and its dictionary-like scope. I haven’t perused each volume but I saw that both James Beard and Helen Evans Brown contributed a large number of entries which lends to the significance of this Encyclopedia.
In Volume 7, Kidney to Mocha, there are mini-books on Korean, Mexican and Midwestern cookery, as well as a feature on kidney cooking across Europe and a section devoted to low-calorie foods. I found the veal loaf in an entry called “How to Cook Superbly: Meat Loaves”. Well OK then! The loaf contains: 2lbs ground veal, 3oz pork fat (ground) 1/2 cup cracker crumbs, minced onion, heavy cream, eggs and dried herbs. The loaf gets mixed and molded and then cooked for an hour while being basted with butter. I could not love this recipe any more. It contains my three favorite food groups: pork fat, heavy cream and butter.
I didn’t have straight pork fat so I used salt pork and this worked because ground veal is bland anyway. It cooked beautifully and un-molded perfectly. The gelatin in the veal and the little bits of fat held the loaf together and allowed it to be sliced thinly without crumbling. We loved it, the kids loved it, and it was even better cold the next day with a little Dijon mustard.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Some of the best comfort food comes out of that era! We forget about all that now that we have all the frozen and processed stuff … let’s get back to the good healthy food.
Denise
http://www.WineFoodPairing.blogspot.com
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:54 am
I just love old cookbooks, but I never seem to cook anything from them (and I have sooo many) you’ve inspired me! I really like your blog-what a great idea.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
What an incredible find with the books. It’s a little upsetting that someone would just toss them out. You’re fortunate to have a friend who thought of you. I love your roast lamb with coffee. I’ve got to try that. Thank you for sharing. Come visit my blog anytime.
July 4th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I’m definitely going to have to make that for my mother–she will love it! I’m not sure what my kids will say–I call one of them “Bread and Jam for Willa” because that’s almost all she eats these days–but I’ll give it a shot with them, too.
July 7th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I love it, love it, love it - it is soooo fabulous, just like you! (the blog, not the meatloaf which I haven’t tried yet).
I am on the hunt for more cookbooks now, I am so glad you can use them!