Next, a trip back in time to the 1770s, to the dinner hour in Colonial America.
- So I'm curious, did they all meet around the dinner table at six?
- Well, not at six.
- No?
Find out when the Colonials ate.
as well as what.
You might be surprised by the delicious foods shared by friends and family as they gathered for a meal.
- One of my favorites is turkey pie.
- Like a turkey pot pie?
- No... - It was baked in a large pot with a crust on top.
Then Kelli Solomon steps up to this history and into our kitchen as she sorts the ingredients and prepares these hearty plates.
- So, you know, it's interesting how many ingredients are going into this dish.
- We think of the colonists as, you know, having kind of a sparse kitchen in the wintertime.
- Not sparse at all.
- Not at all.
[LAUGHTER] What would have have been your favorite had you been living in colonial times?
That's next on Drive By History... Eats.
[MUSIC] Made possible by the New Jersey Historical Commission, enriching the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.
Every day, thousands of motorists pass by countless history markers and say to themselves, 'One of these days, I'm going to stop and read that.'
If you watch Drive By History, you know that's how every episode begins.
I start with a history marker, then go on an investigation to find out what happened and why it mattered.
What you don't know is that the food -- or the eats -- often plays into that part of the history, but there's just not enough time to chew on that part of the past.
And that got me thinking... why not revisit that history but with a focus on the food?
This is Drive By History: Eats.
[MUSIC] The investigation we're revisiting today begins in Middletown, NJ, at the Joseph Murray Homestead in Poricy Park.
The structure has been called an outstanding example of a single family home from Colonial times.
It's the kind of house that people from what we now call the middle class, would have lived in... people like you and me.
At the time, I met with Dr. Jonathan Mercantini of Kean University.
We spoke about what life was like, particularly in the winter, for the average person.
And we focused on the 1770s, right around the time of the American Revolution.
I discovered that winter wasn't nearly as perilous as I had thought.
In fact, there were some aspects of winter that the Colonials really enjoyed.
- It's easier to travel in winter because the roads aren't paved, and so when they freeze, it's actually easier than traveling on mud.
And we take, you know, we're in cars and so slipping and sliding on our tires.
But they could have attached a sled to a horse.
You know, the horse drawn sleigh, if you will.
And so in some ways, having that snow pack down was actually easier to travel.
Jonathan Mercantini also told me that the winter was a relatively social time, too.
The Colonials visited loved ones, they played cards and games.
they sang songs and much more all together, all day by the hearth in the warmth of their kitchens.
And that's why I wanted to revisit this history.
If you're spending a lot of time in the kitchen, and friends and family are dropping by, you're bound to be cooking.
And not survival food, as I had thought.
No...you'd be making dishes that were both hearty and warming and food that could be shared.
So what were the colonials eating during the winter?
To find out more, I'm off to Lloyd Harbor, New York, to the home of Dr. Libby O'Connell, Food and Culture Historian and author of The American Plate .
- Well, they loved the kitchens because that was the - warmest room in the house.
- Makes sense.
- No central heating, right?.
- Right.
- And these are people who are from Northern Europe.
- The summers are really hot here from their... - compared to their experience in the... - They're probably happier in the winter than the summer.
- Happier in the winter.
- And they loved gathering in the kitchen.
- And if they're lucky enough to have somebody in the family - or who they've hired to be their cook, who's good, - then they're going to have some really great meals, too.
- So I'm curious, did they all meet around the dinner table at 6?
- Well, not at 6.
- No?
- Generally, the big meal of the day was at 4, - or 3:30...late afternoon.
- OK. - They did have breakfast.
- You'd start the day... - you might have a hot beverage.
- Tea, maybe, if tea wasn't being boycotted or a mug of... - Yeah, you had those issues, too.
- ...a mug of hard cider, and go out and do some chores, come in - and you would have porridge - and some maybe cheese and toast or something for breakfast.
- Supper was a light meal... could be some soup that was leftovers.
- Maybe eggs...they might have eggs then.
- But your main meal is going to be in the mid to late afternoon.
As we head to the table, Libby tells me that for the average person, eating wasn't nearly as utilitarian as we might think it was.
People really enjoyed the main meal.
And they also enjoyed snacks.
In fact, one of the most popular snacks from the era is still eaten today.
We just don't think of it as being terribly Colonial.
- All ranks of people enjoyed popcorn.
- Really?
- Corn was cheap.
You didn't have to process it.
- You didn't need a microwave.
- All you needed was a cast iron pan and popcorn.
- And people would sit together around the fireplace, - and it was a really cozy social activity.
- Well, popcorn is fun, but it's not what I have in here.
- Yeah, I like popcorn.
- I know, but this is something different.
- I think it might surprise you.
- It's called chicken pudding.
- Okay, savory or sweet?
- Well, it's savory.
- In our culture, pudding is a dessert.
- Got it, yeah.
- But in the 18th century, still very Anglo, British food... - You could have a savory custard.
- Yes.
- And it's not unlike a quiche, actually.
- It's egg with milk, which makes the custard, - and then the bits of chicken in it.
- You could have it for breakfast.
- You could have it for your midday dinner.
- The big meal.
- Excuse me, the afternoon dinner around 4:00.
- Or you could even have it for supper later at night.
- So it really...and it probably kept well, but it's really - usable at any meal, any time of day.
- Well, you know, it is an egg custard... - that doesn't actually keep that well in hot weather.
- It can make you sick.
- Just ignore what I just said.
[LAUGHTER] - But in the winter time, - we're talking about Colonial winters... - That's right?
- this would be an ideal dish.
- All right, then what else would I have been eating - had I lived in Colonial times?
- You might have been eating turkey pie.
- Like a turkey pot pie?
- Not quite.
- This would be a big pie.
- And turkey was a common meat to eat, - particularly in the wintertime.
- Okay.
- And it would have winter vegetables in it.
- So you'd have pumpkin and you'd have squash.
- You'd have some corn and a nice, robust gravy - that was tying it all together.
- But pies were so popular, we can't even imagine - that pies would be on the table almost every day.
- Visitors from Britain and Europe would remark on Americans - because they ate pie for breakfast, - pie for...pie for dinner, and then pie at supper time.
- And somebody commented on that... - the response was, 'well, when else do you eat pie?'
- Exactly.
[LAUGHTER] Pudding for breakfast and pie for dinner?
Not at all what I was expecting.
However, these dishes were prepared at a time when people could spend hours, if not longer, cooking their day-to-day meals.
Will chicken pudding and turkey pie be just as tasty today, prepared in a modern kitchen on a modern timetable?
To find out, I turn to Chef Kelli Solomon.
- Now, I know we got some recipes here, - starting with something called chicken pudding.
- I mean, it sounds odd to me, but I'm really curious - to see how this one comes together.
- Yeah, me too.
Let's get started.
- Let's go.
All right.
- So what are we starting with?
- So first, we're going to start with some butter in our hot pan.
- All right.
- And we're going to have this melt down.
- Okay.
- So, we know it's going to be a buttery dish, then.
- That's a lot of butter going in.
- Absolutely.
- The ratio for this, which is called a roux, - when you add butter and flour -- it's equal parts butter and flour.
- Ah, so this creates a nice thick base for the pudding.
- Absolutely.
- OK, so I can smell the butter and the flour mixing together.
- Yeah, that nutty smell is what we want, and we can tell it is - cooking and getting a little bit of color.
- So now we can add our chicken stock.
- Okay.
- And we'll keep whisking, and we'll add it slowly.
[MUSIC] Next, Kelli combines eggs and milk, then whisks them together to make a custard base.
Then she adds the mixture to the roux and whisks vigorously.
- Yeah, we do not want a lumpy pudding.
- No one likes a lumpy putting.
- [LAUGHTER] No.
- So I know with a custard like this, you have to be careful it doesn't break.
- Right.
- So, what are you looking for?
- ...really careful.
Well, it's thickening up.
- So it's a really good consistency.
- Now we can go ahead and season it.
- Okay.
- I'll give you the pepper.
- Sure.
- You can help me out there.
- And I'm just going to do, you know, a little bit... - a little bit of salt to taste... a little bit more.
- Tell me how much pepper you want.
- I love pepper so I'll probably put in too much.
- Yeah, a little bit more.
- Okay, that's good.
- Okay.
- And then we're going to turn off our heat - and then we can add our special ingredient, our pulled chicken, - Ooh, nice.
- But you can use your leftover chicken - or roasted chicken from, you know, a grocery store.
- Or if you have, you know, you made chicken last night, - whatever you have.
- This is a great way to use leftovers.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- And then we're just going to toss the chicken in our pudding - and make sure that every little bit gets covered.
- All right, so what's next for us?
- So now we have our ramekins.
- You can do this in one big dish if you like, but - I like these little colorful ramekins.
- That way everyone has their individual portion.
- It's nice for a party.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- So we're just going to take our ladle and fill them up.
- So simple.
- So simple, and then everyone gets their own little dish.
- All right, so you're going to leave - a little room on the top there so that it doesn't overflow.
- Yeah.
- If it starts bubbling up.
- Yeah, you definitely don't want to over...overfill them.
- It just looks nicer too.
- Yeah.
Well, Kelli this couldn't be easier.
- Let's get the other four filled up.
We'll pop them in the oven.
- Of course, the Colonials would have put them over an open fire.
- And then we'll see how they taste on the other side.
- Sounds great.
- So now, Kelli, we're on to our turkey pie.
- And Libby made a very strong point - that this is not what we think of as a modern turkey pot pie.
- All right, great.
Let's make it.
- Okay, let's do it.
- So what are we starting with?
- We're going to start with some butter.
- OK, it's always a good way to start.
- We're going to melt this down.
- OK. - So are we making a roux again this time or no?
- No, actually, what we're going to do is just melt our fat - and then put in our onions next.
- Ah, OK. - But first this is going to melt down a little bit.
- Yep.
- And then we'll put in our onions.
- Then we can add our onions.
- Excellent.
- I'm going to guess you want those to be translucent, too?
- Yes.
So these aren't going to get brown at all.
- They're just going to cook until they're - translucent and cooked through a little bit.
- And then we're going to add the rest of our ingredients.
- And I can smell the onions releasing... - Oh, that smells so good.
- Yeah, you can already tell it's starting to get fragrant.
- We're going to add in our spices.
So what have we got?
- So we have some thyme, cayenne and some sage.
- Excellent.
- So I can see that the onions are now translucent - and that the spices have bloss...have bloomed.
- Yeah.
- I guess bloomed is the word you use.
- You can smell it.
- It smells wonderful.
- Absolutely.
So what's next?
- So now we're going to add our squash and sweet potato.
- Okay, - Give it a little...little stir.
- And then our carrots.
- Okay.
- And I see we've got multicolored carrots here.
- Yeah, these are heirloom rainbow carrots.
- Beautiful.
- I love those.
- Raisins.
- An interesting choice for this dish.
- Yeah, it'll add a little sweetness.
- A little sweetness, yeah.
- So it's, you know, natural sugar.
- Very nice.
- Rice.
- Rice?
OK. - Give it a stir, you don't want anything to burn, - So keep the pan moving.
- Okay.
- And then we have corn.
- That makes sense.
- Obviousy, it is in the fall.
- And also sunflower seeds.
- Wow, really creative.
- So, you know, it's interesting - how many ingredients are going into this dish.
- We think of the Colonists as having kind of a sparse - kitchen in wintertime...not at all.
- Not sparse at all.
[LAUGHTER] Next, Kelli has me add turkey stock and hard apple cider while she adds apple cider vinegar.
Our turkey pie filling cooks over a flame 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are nice and tender.
Spinach is added later.
- Yeah, it's nice and wilted and still a beautiful green color - So we can add our remaining ingredients.
- Okay.
- So here we have some turkey that we cooked earlier.
- You know, turkey's incredibly popular today, - but it was really popular even back in Colonial times.
- Oh, I didn't know that.
- Yeah, it was something that they really enjoyed.
- So we're going to mix it in.
- So this is all cooked turkey.
- Yes.
- And then we're going to add our spices, our allspice, - our rosemary and our thyme and just mix it all in there.
- This is also going to make it smell really nice.
- So we're going to add a nice pinch of salt.
- Okay.
- And I'm going to crack the pepper this time.
- Nice.
- And then we're going to let this cool for about 15 minutes.
- And then we're going to add it to our pie crust.
- So it doesn't melt our pie crust.
- Yes.
- All right.
- Okay.
So this is cooled.
- It's been about 15 minutes.
- I can touch the pan now, so you should be ready to move on?
- Yeah, it's cool enough to go in.
- Okay.
- I've just rolled out our bottom pie crust and I'm pressing it into the pan.
- And, you know, in Colonial times, - they would have had to make all of that pie crust from scratch.
- Well, today you can go to the grocery store - and you can pick this up in the freezer section, - This is true.
[LAUGHTER] - ready made and ready to go.
- Okay, so we ready to start loading this pie?
- Yeah.
Let's put it in.
- All right, I'll hold this here for you.
- You go ahead and scoop.
Ah, look at this.
- It looks like there's about enough to make two pies here.
- Almost.
- How are we doing?
- Let's see how full that is.
- So we've got a really stuffed pie here.
- What do we do next?
- So now we're going to put the top crust on.
- Okay.
- I had this chilling in the fridge.
- Yep.
- Rolled this out earlier.
- So it's good to go.
- Perfect.
- Okay, so we've got our top.
- Yeah.
- I want to see how you put this on here.
- I've always been curious how you seal a pie.
- Ready?
One, two... - Yep.
- One, two... - Ha, good for you.
- And let's see if it...let's see if it lines up.
- You did pretty well.
- Yeah, not bad, not bad.
- Yeah.
- But it's good because you can still adjust it.
- Yeah, you're going to need to move it around a little bit - just to make sure you get all of the edges.
- Good.
So how are you going to trim it?
- Okay, so we have our... our rolling pin here - Ah... - and we're just going to... - The chef's secret -- get the rolling pin out and trim it.
- Seal the edges.
- And then it just comes off.
- Oh, look at that.
I can pull right off.
- Yeah.
- Perfect.
- You can just pull.
- And now it's nicely sealed.
- All right, you've got a beautiful edge there.
- Let's get this out of the way.
- Yeah, and here are the final ingredients.
- Would you mind whisking this up for me?
- We have some milk and an egg.
- So, put the egg in here?
- Yeah, we're just making an egg wash to brush our... - Oh, and I get a little whisk.
- I love this tiny, little whisk.
- I don't think I've ever seen a whisk this tiny.
- All right.
- So this is your egg wash?
- Yep.
It's our egg wash. - How's that?
- Yeah, that's fine.
- Okay.
- Okay, so what we're going to do is just brush the top, - and don't worry if there's a little crack here or there.
- We're going to cover it with these beautiful little leaves - that I punched out.
- Yeah, I see those leaves you made.
- Those are beautiful.
They really are.
- Yeah, and you can use them to cover any little imperfection.
- And then we can just brush top.
- Oh, yeah.
A little more egg wash?
- One more time.
- And now we're good to go in the oven.
- Great.
- Today, black pepper is cleared before the dessert course.
- I mean, who wants black pepper with their dessert?
- Well, as it turns out, the Colonials did.
- We're turning to Libby for more.
- Okay, so I'm curious, what would I have been eating - for dessert back then?
- Well, you probably didn't have dessert every day, - but there might be nuts on the table and some fruit.
- In the wintertime, there'd be dried fruit.
- But for an event, for a party, for a holiday, - you might have something like this.
- This is one of my favorite recipes.
- It's called black pepper cake.
- But black pepper... - we don't think of black pepper going with a sweet dessert.
- You know, they mixed their flavors more than we do.
- It's a very plain cake with instead of using vanilla, - they would use rose water.
- Vanilla does not become the ubiquitous flavor - that it is today.
- Rose water or a little bit of orange flavor - would be what they would use.
- And then black pepper.
- And it has a spiced flavor to it - that's a little more - biting, right?
- Yeah, absolutely.
- than what we consider the warming spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
- Okay, my typical question to you though is - how does this inform us about the past?
- This time that we're talking about the Colonial period in - the 18th century was a time of increasing global trade.
- They're using ingredients - that are coming from all over the world.
- They might not know where those places are, - but they know that these things don't grow in their back yard.
- And it makes everyone - a little more aware of how big the world is yet - how closely tied they are by trade, - and trade will be fundamental to the causes of the revolution.
- So, Kelli, we're moving on to our black pepper cake, - but Libby also told me that during colonial times, - they also called this cake an election cake.
- Really?
- Yeah, because it was a celebratory cake, - and election day was a holiday.
- Oh, I love that.
- I know.
I can't wait to try this, so let's get started.
- Okay, great.
- We're going to start - by creaming our butter and our sugar together.
- So we have two sticks of butter in here.
- Okay, that's a lot of butter.
- Yes.
- And two and a half cups of sugar.
- So it's definitely a lo-cal dish.
- Definitely not.
- Okay, let me lift this.
- And then we'll start it off.
- All right.
Next, Kelli folds in four eggs, one at a time.
[SOUND OF MIXER] - All right, how's that looking?
- That looks good.
- We're going to stop it, - and now we can add our dry ingredients.
- All right, let me get that out of your way.
- Perfect.
- Yeah.
- So you've got your flour.
- To our flour - we're going to add our baking soda, salt, and then our spices.
- We have nutmeg, - cinnamon, - All right.
- allspice, - Okay.
- and the hero, black pepper.
- Our surprise ingredient, black pepper.
- Now, who would have thought of black pepper in a cake?
- I've got to tell you, I love black pepper, - but I don't think I've ever had it in a cake.
- I don't think I've had it in a cake either.
- This is going to be interesting.
- We're going to whisk it in here.
- Okay, get everything mixed up.
- Yeah, all of our spices incorporated.
- Okay.
- And then we're going to add - about half of it.
- While the mixer is off.
- Yes, if you do this while the mixer's on... - you might... -You're going to wear it.
[LAUGHTER] - Okay, let's turn it on.
- Turn it on?
Okay.
- Yeah, much better idea.
- Yeah.
- It's like you've done this before.
- We're going to add about half of our buttermilk.. - And then you can kick it up a little bit.
- Okay, how about that?
- Perfect.
- Ah, it's getting nice and mixed in.
- Yeah, so we can turn it off and add a little bit more.
- Okay.
[MUSIC] - And what's important is that you save - just a little bit.
- Yeah?
- And you can add in your sultanas.
- Ah, so you're coating... - Your sultanas are golden raisins - Right.
- and your dried cherries - and you want to coat these but you want to make sure that you use - a tiny bit of flour so you can do this and it won't sink - to the bottom of your cake.
- Gotcha.
- Oh, that's a great trick.
- So now we're going to turn our mixture back on.
- Okay.
we're keeping it on low.
- And... - Yeah.
Add the rest of our buttermilk.
And - now that the flour is getting incorporated - we can turn it up a little bit.
- Okay, all right.
- All right.
- It looks like cake batter.
- Okay, that's a good thing.
- Yes.
- We're going in the right direction.
- Yeah, so we're going to turn it off for a second, and - dump our sultanas and our cherries in.
- It's so interesting that this calls for sultanas because, - you know, that's a British thing.
- They're really just golden raisins.
- Yeah, I've never heard them called that before, - so it's kind of interesting.
- And we're going to just take a quick mix.
- The last thing we're going to add is our rose water.
- It's basically used how, you know, vanilla would be today.
[SOUND OF MIXER] - All right, so that's a pretty ornate bundt pan you've got there.
- Yeah, it's really detailed and beautiful.
- Yeah.
- So the Colonists probably would have used a tube pan - because it was, you know, simple and easy to make.
- That's what they would have had.
- Yeah.
- But this one, I think that the glaze - that we'll make will drip down - really beautifully into the little crevices.
- And pool in there so we can eat it, yeah.
- All right.
- Let's take our paddle off.
- Perfect.
- I loosened it up there for you, so you get it out easily.
- [LAUGHTER] Thank you.I think you went.
How long this or not at all.
- Do you mind holding this for me?
- Not at all.
- Okay, so we can dump our batter in here.
- Yep.
Kelli fills the bundt pan, then reveals a baking secret.
- Okay, so just make sure that you spread it evenly, - and then you do one of these [BANGING PAN ON COUNTER] - just to make sure if there are any bubbles - they rise to the top and don't affect the cake.
- Wow.
- Yeah, so we've baked or cake for about an hour - and we let it cool for another 15 - and we've just unmolded it and we're ready to glaze.
- Oh, there's more that's going on this, I can't wait.
- So what we have here is some dark rum - and some rose water, and we're going to mix it in - to some powdered sugar.
- Interesting combination.
- Rum and rose water.
- Never would have thought of that.
- Yeah, me either.
- There you go.
- Yeah.
- Now it's getting getting close to what we're...you want it to... - You want it to be pourable, too.
- Yeah, you need to be pourable.
- It looks a pretty good consistency.
- Yeah, it looks good.
- So we're going to pour it over our cake.
- Now this is where all of the nooks and crannies - from that pan really are going to pay off, - because this glaze is going to cling to them.
- Yes.
- Give us that delicious sweetness and that rose water.
- It's an interesting combination.
- The rum and the rose water.
- Yeah, I can smell it.
It smells really nice.
[MUSIC] - Okay, Kelli, my favorite time of the day, - we get to actually taste everything we've made.
- Awesome.
- I'm excited.
- All right, so we're starting with the chicken pudding.
- Let's taste it.
- All right.
[MUSIC] - Mmmm.
- It's good.
- It's really creamy.
- It's got a velvety texture.
- This would make a great appetizer.
- Absolutely.
It kind of reminds me of cream of chicken soup.
- Yes, exactly right.
- If you love chicken, you'll definitely love this.
- Yeah.
- This is a delicious dish.
- So now we get to try the turkey pie.
- I'm excited.
- I'm excited to see you cut into this.
- All right.
- Here we go.
- Very nice.
- All right.
- All right.
- Let's taste it.
- Let's dig in.
- See how we did here.
[MUSIC] - Mmmm.
- I like it.
- Mm hmm.
- You taste the sweetness of the raisins?
- I do, but I also taste all of those vegetables that are in it.
- It's got a really wonderful flavor.
- And all the herbs.
- Kind of tastes a little bit like winter to me.
- Okay, this is the one I've been waiting for, - but I have to be honest, - I have my reserve here with this black pepper on it.
- All right.
- It's time to dig in.
- Let's see how we did here.
- The pepper, I feel like, just brings out all the flavor.
- It's not really, like, spicy.
- It's just savory and warm with the nutmeg and the allspice.
- I feel the warming spices on the back of my tongue.
- So it's really giving it this wonderful sensation.
- It's really good.
- And I like that the cherries have a nice, nice sweetness.
- Very nice sweetness to it.
But it's not overly sweet.
- It's delicious.
- Wow, this is so good.
- I can eat this whole slice.
Winter in Colonial America was not easy.
We know that much to be true.
But daily life for average folks like you and me, well, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.
Take mealtime, for instance.
The food that was on your dinner table... well, that could be downright delicious.
We'll see you next time.
All of today's recipes are available on our website.
DriveByHistoryEats.org.
Made possible by the New Jersey Historical Commission, enriching the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.