Firestone Farm Thanksgiving Recipes
The holiday season is upon us, and visitors to Greenfield Village may catch a full Victorian Thanksgiving meal being prepared by presenters at Firestone Farm. Try our delicious Thanksgiving recipes at home. They all taste best with a healthy helping of homemade apple cider!
A roast turkey is served at Firestone Farm in Greenfield Village. Photo courtesy of Larissa Fleishman.
Roast Turkey
Wash, dry and stuff with a dressing of dry bread, soaked in water, pressed out and mixed with salt, pepper, thyme, butter and an egg. Sew up the turkey snugly, and put in a pan with a little water; roast slowly, allowing three hours for a ten-pound turkey. When commencing to brown, rub over with a little butter to keep the skin from blistering; boil giblets in water, chop fine and put in gravy.
May Perrin Goff, The Household of the Detroit Free Press, 1881, p. 590.
Cranberry Sauce
After removing all soft berries, wash thoroughly, place for about two minutes in scalding water, remove, and to every pound fruit add three-quarters of a pound granulated sugar and a half pint water; stew together over a moderate but steady fire. Be careful to cover and not to stir the fruit, but occasionally shake the vessel, or apply a gentler heat if in danger of sticking or burning. If attention to these particulars be given, the berries will retain their shape to a considerable extent, which adds greatly to their appearance on the table. Boil from five to seven minutes, remove from fire, turn into a deep dish, and set aside to cool. If to be kept, they can be put up at once in air-tight jars. Or, for strained sauce, one and a half pounds of fruit should be stewed in one pint of water for ten or twelve minutes, or until quite soft, then strained through a colander or fine wire sieve, and three-quarters of a pound of sugar thoroughly stirred into the pulp thus obtained; after cooling it is ready for use. Serve with roast turkey or game.
Estelle Woods Wilcox, Ed.,Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, 1877, p. 131.
Winter Squash
Cut up, take out inside, pare the pieces and stew in as little water as possible, cook an hour, mash in kettle, and if watery, let stand on the fire a few moments, stirring until dry; season with butter, cream, salt and pepper; be careful that it does not burn. Winter squashes are also cooked by cutting in pieces without paring, baking, and serving like potatoes; or they may be cooked in a steamer, and served either in the shell, or scraped out, put in pan, mashed, and seasoned with butter, cream, salt and pepper, and then made hot and served.
Estelle Woods Wilcox, Ed., Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, 1877, p. 296.
Green Corn Patties
4 large ears of corn grated
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1½ cups flour; pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Mix well together, and fry in a skillet by spoonsful in boiling hot lard.
Francis E. Owens, Mrs. Owens’ Cook Book and Useful Household Hints, 1884, p. 135.
Mock Mince Pie
Of the best apples, six pounds, pared, cored, and minced; of fresh suet and raisins, stoned, each three pounds, likewise minced; to these add of mace and cinnamon one-quarter ounce of each, eight cloves in finest powder, three pounds of finest powdered sugar, juice of two lemons, half a pint of port wine, rinds of four lemons. Boiled cider is good to give flavor to mince pies in place of liquor.
May Perrin Goff, The Household of the Detroit Free Press, 1881, p. 546.
A presenter serves apple pie at Firestone Farm in Greenfield Village. Photo courtesy of Larissa Fleishman.
Grandma Graves’ Apple Pie
Four or 5 tart apples peeled and quartered. Slice small and lay evenly around on the pie-paste. Take 1 cup sugar, small pieces of butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a sprinkling of flour over the whole, and 2 tablespoons water. Cover with rich paste and bake slowly. Green apples should be stewed before making into pies.
German Bread
One pint bread sponge; one cup sugar; one egg; one piece of butter the size of a walnut; beat them all together till light; stir in flour till it is as thick as a cake; let it rise till light; then bake in a moderate oven. After you butter your tin, sift cinnamon over it, and just before baking sift sugar over the top of the bread.
May Perrin Goff, The Household of the Detroit Free Press, 1881, p. 386.
Presenters enjoy a Thanksgiving meal at Firestone Farm in Greenfield Village. Photo courtesy of Larissa Fleishman.
