Recipes for Fall Entertaining

Fall is a wonderful time of year to give lunches, dinners or small parties. It's cooled off enough to enjoy baking for friends, and to serve hot beverages as well. The rich colors of fall are also lovely to use as decorating themes. Fill baskets with herbs, leaves, pine cones, small pumpkins, apples or squash.

Hot Apple Punch
Farm Journal, 1968

2 1/4 cups sugar
1 quart water
2 cinnamon sticks
8 whole allspice berries
10 whole cloves
1 piece ginger root, quarter size
1 quart orange juice, any type
1 pint lemon juice or 16 ounce bottle
2 quarts apple cider or juice

Combine the sugar and water. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add spices. Let syrup stand, covered for one hour. Strain. Just before serving, combine the syrup, fruit juices and cider; bring quickly to a boil. Remove from heat and serve. Makes 4 1/2 quarts.

Notes: Place the spices in a muslin bag or cheesecloth and just pull them out instead of straining. Instead of boiling before serving, add the ingredients into a crockpot and heat on high until hot then turn on warm.

Scalloped Apples
Modern Priscilla Cook Book, 1924

5 apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups fresh bread crumbs

Boil the apples to a pulp, adding sugar. Stir the butter, beaten eggs, cinnamon and salt into the apple sauce. Grease a baking dish and put in one layer of crumbs, then a layer of apple pulp, and so on until all the apple is used. Cover the top with crumbs and bake in a moderate oven. (350 degrees F.) for 45 minutes. Servings 6. Serve with custard, cream or ice cream.

Apple Injun
Modern Priscilla Cook Book, 1924

3 cups milk
1/2 cup corn meal
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 pint milk (cold)
2 tbsp. butter
1 quart sweet apples

Scald three cups milk, sift in corn meal, stirring rapidly and cook five minutes. Remove from fire, add cinnamon, salt, sugar, cold milk, butter and apples, cut in eighths. Bake in a deep covered dish in a 300 degree F. over for 4 hours. Servings, 8.

Notes: I'm guessing the name is because of the corn meal mixture-- there is a corn dish I've seen called Indian Corn. It does not say to peel and core the apples, but I would. Often very old cookbooks will assume you know to do certain steps-- peeling and coring is one of these.

Cider Punch
Practical Recipes for the Housewife

1 quart cider
1 quart white grade juice
2 quarts water
juice of two oranges
juice of two lemons
1 cup sugar

Grate part of the orange and lemon rinds. Dissolve sugar in fruit juices. Pour in cider and add grated rinds. Pour over lump of ice for use in a punch bowl.

Maple Ginger Snaps
Home Comfort Cook Book, 1948

1/2 cup shortening or butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup maple syrup
6 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold water

Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in syrup. Resift flour with the dry ingredients. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the water. Knead well. Roll thin. Cut. Bake on greased tins in moderate oven (350 degrees F.) Cool. Remove from tins.

We have an article with old fashioned Halloween party ideas:

http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/halloweenparty.html

~Brenda