Dolly Varden Cake from Savannah Cook Book, Harriet Ross Colquitt

Dolly Varden Cake from Savannah Cook Book, Harriet Ross Colquitt:

Dolly Varden Cake from Savannah Cook Book, Harriet Ross Colquitt

Of course we have the cookbook.  See it here:  https://vintagecookbook.com/product/savannah-cook-book-1933-1960-unrevised-first-edition-1963-printing/

Savannah Cook Book, 1933, Subtitle: A Collection of Old Fashioned Receipts from Colonial Kitchens, collected, edited and signed by Harriet Ross Colquitt. With a poetic introduction by Ogden Nash and with whimsical decorations by Florence Olmstead. First edition, first printing. Absolutely as-if-new hard cover copy. 186 pages, every one completely clean and clear. Binding is sound. Hinges are perfect.

Colonial Kitchens occupied the basement of the Colonial Dames House, the home of the Georgia Society of Colonial Dames of America, on Lafayette Square, in Savannah, Georgia. The Kitchens was open in 1928. The house was the former home of Juliette Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of America. Colquitt collected these recipes–or receipts–were collected from the African American cooks working at the Kitchens. Colquitt using the word “collected” as if she were a trained student of American folklore, which I believe she was. The recipes are accompanied by charming stories of the cooks and the other workers at the Kitchens, and stories about the recipes, about which Colquitt says, come from “old manuscripts written in fine, lady-like hands–many of the including identical directions which have been passed about among friends.”

The one great thing about these recipes: They often call for adding a glass of wine right before serving. You just can imagine the cook pouring two glasses! Also, the cartoon illustrations are wonderful. Very, very funny! (Once you get passed the fact that they are offensive, of course.)