Date: Fri 24-Jan-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

Sarah-Booth-Cookbook-library

Full Text:

Sarah Booth Cookbook Gets National Recognition w/ cuts

B Y A NDREA Z IMMERMANN

If townspeople of yesteryear could come back to visit at will, you could be

assured Sarah Edmond Booth would be center stage at Edmond Town Hall on

January 31 when a representative of the McIlhenny Company bestows its Special

Merit citation for the 1996 Tabasco’ Community Cookbook Awards. You see, it is

a collection of Sarah's recipes, The Sarah Booth Cookbook , that has stirred

all this attention.

The nationwide contest was open to original cookbooks, complied and published

in either 1995 or 1996 by non-profit organizations; recipes had to comprise at

least 50 percent of book, and proceeds had to benefit a bonafide cause in the

community.

The cookbooks were judged on title and theme, contribution to recording

American regional culinary tradition, layout and art reflective of the area or

subject, recipe content, fundraising record, and documented or intended use of

proceeds for community projects.

The Sarah Booth Cookbook , published by the Friends of the Library, was given

the special award by the judges for its charming presentation, single focus,

and blending of past and present by providing both original recipes from the

18th and early 19th Centuries and modern adaptations. Proceeds from the sale

of the book will be used to purchase materials for the Cyrenius H. Booth

Library children's reading room and computer software for the reference room.

The 20 recipes in the cookbook are taken from the handwritten notebook of

Sarah Booth, who lived from 1800 to 1864. They include cakes, breads and

desserts such as Soft Ginger Bread, Queen's Cake (flavored with wine and

brandy), Wedding Cake, Carrot Pudding, New Year's Cookies, Good Fritters,

Genuine Whigs (buns) and Jumbles (cookies). Library Curator Caroline Stokes

found the recipe collection - actually lists of ingredients without

instructions - that eventually made it into the hands of Carolyn Greene, a

Friend of the Library.

As editor, Mrs Greene contributed a special combination of talents to creation

of the cookbook. She has operated Silver Spoon Catering for the past six

years, and when she was in college, majored in publishing and graphic art.

Prior to the publication of the cookbook, Mrs Greene was art director and one

of the designers of League of Women Voters' Newtown Connecticut: Directions

and Images .

Mrs Greene and Michele Grillo took the list of ingredients for a limited

number of "recipes" and test-baked to create recipes that would work in

today's kitchens. The resulting cookbook includes a good representation of all

the original recipes; those that would be of interest to the modern cook, said

Mrs Greene. The book offers notes, variations and serving suggestions for the

recipes, and explanations of some of the phrases used in the original

versions.

"The most challenging was the one called `Muffins,'" said Mrs Greene. Yeast

was one of the ingredients listed, but when Mrs Grillo baked the muffins in a

tin, the results were "a little tough." After studying the handwritten list

and the one-line clue: Spoon the batter into rings, Mrs Green realized they

must be English muffins, which are baked on a griddle, and delicious when

cooked that way.

Many of the ingredients on the lists did not have an amount, but Mrs Greene

said there is a certain relationship between dry and wet ingredients, salt and

sugar, and so on.

Some of the ingredients were unknown to the bakers. Mrs Grillo thought "pearl

ash" might be a spice and tried to bake without using it. Finally, she was

able to ascertain that, in Sarah Booth's days, a local plant was burned and

the ashes used in cooking in the manner that we now use baking powder.

"What I found most interesting was trying to get the mind set of Sarah Booth

and how she would have made it," said Mrs Grillo, a Friend of the Library who

enjoys cooking as a hobby. "It might say `mix it together over the fire.' So I

would imagine a big fire, try to imagine how hot the fire was so I could

adjust the temperature of my stove. Just think - they had to grow their wheat

and bring it over to mill, get chickens to lay eggs, get cows to milk - just

to make a cake."

Along with the citation, Friends of the Library will receive a $100 check.

"This is a really nice contribution in light of the library expansion project

and the increased space that will be available for the children's library,"

said Friends President Marian Wood. "This cookbook honors Sarah Booth, who is

part of Newtown's past, while raising funds to support Newtown's present and

future through the library."

First place national winner was Stop and Smell The Rosemary , published by the

Junior League of Houston, Inc.; second place went to The Kansas City Barbecue

Society Cookbook ; and third place was awarded to Main Line Classics II -

Cooking Up a Little History , compiled by The Junior Saturday Club of Wayne,

Penn..

Special merit citations were awarded for The Sarah Booth Cookbook , and The

McClellanville Coast Seafood Cookbook from McClellanville Arts Council,

McClellanville, S.C. Winners of regional cookbook categories and those selling

more than 100,000 copies also received awards.

"These outstanding books from non-profit organizations help preserve our

culinary history and traditions," said Paul C.P. McIlhenny, executive vice

president of McIlhenny Company. "By sharing recipes and expertise from

knowledgeable cooks, they raise thousands of dollars for deserving causes

within their communities. We are pleased to recognize the efforts of the

volunteers who created them."

Members of the judging panel were Jan Turner Hazard, food editor of Ladies'

Home Journal ; Meryle Evans, culinary historian; Ann H. Harvey, editorial

director, Special Interest Publications, Oxmoor House, Inc; Jan Longone,

curator of the Wine and Food Library; William Rice, columnist for the Chicago

Tribune ; Tommy Simmons, food editor of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate ; and

Nahum Waxman, owner of Kitchen Arts and Letters bookstore.

The public is invited to attend the award presentation Friday, January 31, at

3 pm, in Edmond Town Hall Theater. During the ceremony, First Selectman Bob

Cascella will make a proclamation.

The Sarah Booth Cookbook is available for $6 from the Booth Library,

temporarily located at Shelton House on the Fairfield Hills Campus; or for

$7.50 (including shipping and handling) from Friends of the C.H. Booth

Library, 25 Main Street, Newtown 06470.