Best Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Jars

This edition of Ceil Dyer’s book is ten years old but even more valuable than when it was published (in its original incarnation) in 1979. All of those recipes you saved from cereal boxes, jar labels, and magazine ads and threw into one of your kitchen drawers; all of the cakes and casseroles your mother and maybe even your grandmother baked over and over from favorite ingredients — they’re here. This cookbook is so much fun, because it’s also a trip through the past century. Many of the food companies that came up with these recipes have long since been swallowed up by multi-national holding companies that wouldn’t know a farmer from a firecracker, but the recipes live on.

For instance, there’s the recipe for the Bran Nut and Raisin Bread served at the first in-flight meal served aboard a passenger plane, April 8, 1930. (It may have been the last time an airline served something good.) Kellogg’s supplied the meal, and the Ford Motor Company provided the "Tin Goose" tri-motor airplane as fifteen presidents of Detroit women’s organizations enjoyed an airborne luncheon.

Sample Recipes:

Bran Nut and Raisin Bread

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, mix together cereal, sugar, milk, water, and molasses. Mix in the flour mixture. Stir in walnuts and raisins. Spread in a greased 9" by 5" loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour, until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Makes 1 loaf.

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Argo Corn Starch
1-1/2 cups cold water
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 lemon’s grated rind
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon margarine
1 9" baked pastry shell
3 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar

Stir together 1 cup sugar and cornstarch in a 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in egg yolks. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon rind, lemon juice, and margarine. Cool. Turn into pastry shell. Beat egg whites until foamy in a small bowl with mixer at high speed. Add 1/3 cup sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Spread some meringue around the edge of the filling, first touching the crust all around, then fill in the center. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool at room temperature away from any draft. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Orange Kiss-Me Cake

Topping:
Reserved 1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Orange slices for garnish

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for glass pan). Grease and flour a 13" by 9" pan. Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level off. Squeeze the orange and reserve 1/3 cup of the juice. Grind the orange peel and pulp, raisins, and 1/3 cup walnuts together. Set aside. In a large bowl, blend flour, sugar, soda, salt, milk, shortening, and eggs. Beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in the orange-raisin mixture and pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Topping: Drizzle reserved orange juice over the warm cake. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts; sprinkle over cake. If desired, garnish with orange slices. Makes 15 servings.

Chocolate Caramel Sauce

Cook sugar and salt with 3 tablespoons water to a light caramel brown. Remove from heat; add chocolate syrup, butter, and cornstarch mixed to a paste and 1 cup hot water. Cook over direct heat until thick (220°F), for about 15 minutes; add vanilla. Serve with cottage pudding or other hot desserts, or with ice cream. Makes 1 cup of sauce.