Parrish Ritchie - The Vintage Church Cookbook: Classic Recipes for Family and Flock

CLASSIC RECIPES
FOR FAMILY AND FLOCK PARRISH RITCHIE To the loves of my life,
my motivation,
my inspiration,
my boys, SAM & DEAN In my family there is an old church cookbook. It was put together by all the ladies in the congregation including my mom, my grandma, my great-grandma, my great-great-grandma, and my aunt and my great-aunt, and we each have a copy. The pages are filled with recipes handed down through generations. Some of them dont have exact measurements or cook times and you just kind of have to figure it out. Each page has a tip or hint for the Gracious Virginia Hostess. The covers on our copies are now a little torn and the paper is yellow.

The pages with the recipes we use the most are stuck together from sticky hands. Decades after it was first printed, it is still our favorite cookbook and the one we use the most. I have so many memories of church and of food, they seem to go hand in hand. When we walked into church every Sunday morning all you could smell was strong coffee. Memories of Vacation Bible School taste like butter cookies and fruit punch. In the summer we would have a big festival with activities, and all the ladies baked their best cakes for the cake walk game.

When I got old enough, I was so excited to help out in the concession stand passing out hot dogs. There were church ball team picnics with the best hamburgers and desserts you can imagine. There were spaghetti night dinners and potlucks with long folding tables full of food. When I was growing up our church had a soda machine tucked into a little closet, and my uncle and I would sit impatiently through the service with quarters getting hot in our hands just waiting to get an ice-cold cherry coke. I am so glad to have these memories and to have that cookbook. Whenever I make one of the recipes from it, it brings back memories of those great times and events when those dishes were served.

I am sure many of you have your own church cookbooks. They have a long history in the United States. Since the mid-1800s, long before the age of sharing recipes online, church and community cookbooks, which were often compiled as fundraisers, were a way for the women to share their treasured, time-tested recipes. In addition to my familys, I have collected vintage church cookbooks over the yearssome are from my grandma, some I have found at thrift stores and just couldnt bear to leave behind. I love flipping through them. Each one is a little different, and each has a unique blend of classic recipes and some special variations, but you can always feel such a strong sense of community through the pages.

The best ones have tips sprinkled throughout. I just love how the indivudal style of each church comes out through the recipes and tips. Being from Virginia, many of the community cookbooks Ive been inspired by are Southern, and those ingredients, flavors, and characteristic Southern warmth come through in the recipes and tips. There are certain recipes that you see over and over in these cookbooks, with slight variations. Think Amish macaroni salad, meatloaf, and buttermilk pie. Others are more uniquewhen was the last time you saw a recipe for Jell-O spinach salad? One thing they all have in common is that they are hearty recipes meant to be shared.

Many of these recipes would be served at church for a potluck or an after-service lunch. A lot of the dishes are economical: everyone likes to save a penny, especially back then. And a lot of them are casseroles. I mean a lot of them are casseroles. I think its because casseroles are so versatile. They can be made for dinner and theres sure to be plenty of leftovers.

Plus they travel well, so theyre perfect to take to the Sunday potluck or to that new mom whos too exhausted to cook. As a blogger and recipe developer, Im all about finding, creating, and sharing the most delicious recipes, and its so much fun to browse through the pages of these books and discover just what that looked like to those different communities at different times. When I decided to write this book, I wanted to celebrate the tradition of the church cookbook. It meant bringing together some of the best recipes the various books have to offeras well as some pretty kitchy vintage ones, like that Jell-O salad. Some of the recipes may seem a little retro, but trust me, they are all delicious and stand the test of time. I hope you enjoy these recipes.

With them you can rediscover some old classics, find some new and interesting dishes, and give some real vintage favorites a try! LIFE-GIVING VITAMINS Vitamin A: Acceptance Vitamin B: Belief Vitamin C: Confession Vitamin D: Determination Vitamin E: Endurance These vitamins are necessary daily for beauty and health.

Neiman Marcus Dip, otherwise known as Almond Bacon Cheese Spread and Million Dollar Dip, is such a simple dip to have so many names! It originated in the Neiman Marcus department store restaurant in the 1950s and has been a favorite ever since. With bacon, cheese, and almonds it really does taste like a million bucks! yield: 5 servings 1 cups mayonnaise 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar 5 green onions, sliced cup sliced almonds 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled Just mix all of the ingredients together and serve. It can be served right away or kept covered in the fridge for up to 3 days to use whenever you need it; it gets better the longer it sits! TIP Double this recipe! It goes fast and you can use any leftovers as a sandwich spreadyum! Quiche is such a classic dish, and, while it sounds fancy, its a cinch to make. Now we mostly see them as a trendy brunch item, but quiche was quite the craze back in the day, served as appetizers or even as dinner with a side salad. I think a small slice of a buttery quiche filled with cheese and bacon is the perfect appetizer.

They also travel well to a potluck or to take to a new mom. yield: 8 servings as an appetizer or 4 as a light meal 1 premade piecrust, unbaked 1 pound bacon, cut into -inch pieces and cooked until crispy 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese cup green onions, chopped 6 large eggs 1 cup heavy cream teaspoon salt teaspoon black pepper Preheat the oven to 425F. Place the piecrust into a 9-inch pie plate and crimp edges. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly browned. Remove the piecrust from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350F.