Have you ever read some of your Grandmother’s Cookbooks?  They can be extremely entertaining!!  My mom recently gave me a book called “The Kitchen Klinic” Completed by The Women’s Club of St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio 1936.

Gosh, people…some of it is rather comical, but I have a great appreciation for how Homemakers use to be and feel we should preserve those good ole days!  Therefore, I am beginning The Kitchen Klinic Chronicles, in honor of all our Grandmothers and Great Grandmothers. It seems like the Ultimate Homemaker/Cooking 101 Course.  This may be helpful to all you newlyweds out there who are just starting to cook and discover what foods your spouse favors.  I often recall lunch at Grandma’s (well in the 80s) typically included a spread of foods like chicken salad and Jello with a dollop of miracle whip…  Sorry, I won’t be posting anything like that!!!  But my mother always shares childhood memories of her mother preparing supper in her house dress and apron.  Grandpa would come home from a hard day’s work at U.S. Steel and she would fix him a Martini…I sure hope it was shaken not stirred!  If you are wondering, this is not the same Grandmother that gave me Bierocks and Noodles.

Moving on, today’s post will focus on a recipe in the chapter titled “Meats”  and I will use this Crown Roast…no, let’s call it The Crown of Dunwoody (because it came from a Fresh Market near Dunwoody, Georgia)  as a proper example.

I must admit that when I cooked The Crown of Dunwoody, I watched a video on youtube by Paula Deen just to get the basic gist, but that was before and now that I have this handy book of Grandma Kempton’s, let’s look at how to go about cooking it the proper old fashioned way, shall we?

Crown Roast of Lamb by Mrs. W.I. Krewson pg. 41 (as stated in The Kitchen Klinic)

Step 1:  “Have a crown of lamb of the desired size made up at the market.”  Okay, so far so good # Winning as my teenager would say.

Step 2:  “Fill to about one-half the depth of the crown with a savory poultry dressing”  Now…I’m just guessing that a newlywed reading this would be stumped at this point.  I mean, what ? did everyone grow up knowing the general recipe for a savory poultry dressing?  and nope…I did not do this.  Basically, I just rubbed the whole thing with some olive oil, fresh chopped oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary and garlic, followed by some dashes of salt and pepper.

Step 3:  “To prevent charring, put a cube of salt pork on the end of each rib-bone.”  Sorta skipped that part too, but this does sound yummy. Just wrap each little bone with some foil.  About salt pork, can you believe I have never bought salt pork?  This will probably offend my southern relatives, considering I married a southern man and we have spent about 12 years of our marriage living in the South…But, ladies you must remember that when you marry you will learn to prepare all his favorite foods, and for some odd reason, my husband doesn’t like cooked vegetables like turnip greens, which explains why I have never grabbed a package of salt pork.  Next….

Step 4:  “Put into a hot oven, 550 degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350”  wait.  what?  Do ovens even go that high??  So, I wonder, what exactly does “hot” mean?!!!  According to pg. 181 of this guide it means, 400- 450 degrees.  Yes!  I did this…  450 for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350.

Step 5:  “Continue cooking 30 minutes per pound.”  Oh, just think how impressed they are going to be!!  You will look like a pro in no time…

Step 6:  “When done remove the cubes of salt pork from the ends of the ribs and replace them by paper frills.”  N/A

Step 7:  “Fill the crown with hot buttered green peas.”  so…..on top of the stuffing??  Buttered peas do sound tasty!

Step 8:  “Serve on a platter garnished with parsley.”  Well, as you can see, I just served it with green beans all around.

Crown Roast is definitely a special occasion supper in our home and a great thing to serve at the holidays or anytime you have a house full of guests!

The recipe just under this on pg 41, is Fried Liver.  I think we’ll skip that little treat (sorry dad)  but ladies, don’t fret because The Kitchen Klinic Chronicles are more like guidelines to inspire you and get you to create your own wonderful meals. To truly be a good homemaker and loving wife, we all learn to cook what our own spouses love and personally, my hubby would not enjoy the Fried Liver.

Check back soon for Part 2, where we will learn ??   I will leave you with this little poem from the book:

The Bride’s Pie

She did not have a cook book

But she tried to make a pie

Poor hubby had to eat it

And he thought that he would die

So he bought a Kitchen Klinic

 And he gave it to his bride,

Now their meals are “Perfect”

As all recipes are true and tried.

-by Mrs. John S. Coulton