| UNITEDSTATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE |
RADIO SERVICE | OFFICE OF INFORMATION. |
Housemakers' chat Wednesday, October 28, 1931
(NOT FOR PUBLICATION)
Subject: "Hallowe'en Merrymaking, " Menus and. recipes from the Bureau of Home Economics, U. S.D.A.
Bulletins available: "Lamb As You like It" and "Aunt Sammy's Recipes Revised."
Of all the holidays of the year, the two that children enjoy most are Hallowe'en and. Christmas. Hallowe'en with all its tradition of mystery, quaint old spooky customs and. celebrations has a special appeal to young imaginations. What youngster doesn't enjoy this night of the year when ghosts and goblins are abroad , when witches are riding on broomsticks and other eerie folk are free to wander.
Draw the curtains tight,
Wise folk arc in before
Moonrise tonight.
Apples a-bob
Elves at the Key-hole
Imps on the hob.
Chestnuts to roast,
A gift for the fairy,
A prayer for the ghost."
Hallowe'en is one of the oldest holidays we have much older than Christmas in fact, because it came down to us from the harvest festival of the ancient Druids, when each village lighted a great altar fire as a protection against evil spirits. Each family took a spark from the new altar fire for their own hearth fire as a protection for the coming year,
When the Druids became Christians, they abandoned this festival, but the superstitious country folk still believed down through the ages that on All Hallow Eve, the fairies and elves came out to dance in enchanted moonlight and that bed spirits gathered in deserted castles to plot against mankind. In fact, as late as the 17th century farmers would tramp over their acres on Hallowe'en brandishing lighted torches and chanting weird songs to frighten away the goblins. And until very recent years, I'm told, the custom of lighting Hallowe'en fires has continued in the highlands of Scotland and Wales.
In England, this evening was long ago set aside for fireside pranks and mysterious games. Ducking or bobbing for apples, telling fortunes, masquerading and other revelries date way back to the Middle Ages.
Unfortunately, pranks have not always stayed by the fireside. Instead of ghosts and goblins abroad, the boys of the neighborhood set forth to put ticktacks on windows, to ring fire alarms, steal gates and damage property generally. In some places ruthless destruction and lawlessness more than the police could manage, and Hallowe'en became a serious civic problem.
The problem has been solved in several cities, simply by spending their funds on entertainment rather than on extra police. The wise municipal officers decided that something amusing to do is the best antidote for rowdyism.
Four years ago at Glens Falls, New York, an annual Hallowe'en celebration for everybody was started that has been most successful. Manufacturers, stores, schools and clubs all joined in a huge parade to the delight of thousands of spectators, young and old. Last year there were a hundred elaborate floats in the parade, as well as bands, grotesque animals, marchers in fantastic and colorful costumes, decorated automobiles and many old horse-drawn vehicles. The carnival spirit pervaded the throngs on the side lines whoo sang, cheered, danced, and were dressed in every sort of gay costume.
In Evansville, Indiana, Halloween is one of the big occasions of the year for the whole city. The celebrations are staged in neighborhood units, sponsored by the Parent-Teacher groups and centering around the neighborhood schools. Thousands take part in the parades and in the programs of stunts given at the schools afterward. Prizes are awarded and a huge bonfire is burnt as a grand finale. An old custom here in Washington brings everyone out on the street in costumes of all kinds with confetti and balloons for gayety.
With such organized merriment, no child cares to spend his evening at such interesting deviltry as painting the neighbor's front porch or carrying off gate posts.
Hallowe'en is one of the pleasantest times of year for entertaining at hone. It isn't the time for correct and formal seventeen course dinners, but rather for spicy, bountiful informal suppers served to a merry crowd of guests. There are a variety of autumn and harvest foodstuffs available at this time, the colorful leaves and flowers in the gardens providing bright ruddy color schemes and Jack-o'-Lanterns, black cats, witches and other symbols of the day add to the decoration.
I asked the Menu Specialist to plan us two menus for informal Hallowe'en dinners—the first to be inexpensive, the second to be a little more elaborate.
Here is Menu No. 1. A simple, inexpensive and colorful company dinner. The color schoeme, of course, is black and orange. Meat broth with fancy carrot slices; Pork chops deluxe; Hubbard squash baked in squares; Prune and apricot salad; Orange ice; and Chocolate wafers. Orange and black, you see, in every course. Thin slices of carrot may be cut in interesting shapes and used to decorate the broth.
Diced carrots will do if you haven't time to cut the fancy shapes. The recipe for pork chops de luxe is not in your green cookbook revised, so I'm going to give it to you, as soon as I've said a word about fixing the rest of the menu.
The Hubbard squash, with its orange center and dark covering fits in beautifully with the color scheme, beside being just the vegetable to go with those pork chops de luxe. Wash the squash, then cut it in pieces about 3 or 4 inches square, and remove the seeds and stringy portions. Put the pieces in a creased shallow pan, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, pour melted butter over the top, cover and bake in a moderate oven for one hour-- or until it is tender. Serve it piping hot.
Use steamed or cooked dried prunes for the salad. The prunes should be firm enough to hold their share when the stones are taken out. The apricots may be either of the dried cooked variety or canned. Arrange the fruit carefully on crisp lettuce. French dressing containing a little extra sugar will be nice with this salad,
Now the recipe for pork chops de luxe: Eight ingredients. Let's write them down.
- 5 pork chops
- 5 medium-sized apples, pared and cored
- 4 white potatoes, medium size.
- 6 onions, cut in half
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1/8 teaspoon popper
- 1-1/2 cups boiling water,
- and Flour
I'll repeat them. (Repeat).
A large baking dish is necessary for this recipe.If you haven't a casserole, use a roaster with a cover. Grease the baking dish. Cut the onions in half and place them in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt. Core the apples. Cut each apple into 4 or 5 rings, and stick the end of a pork chop through these rings. Then place the pork chops and apples over the layer of onions and sprinkle lightly with flour. Fill up the spaces with the potatoes, thinly sliced. Add the remaining salt and the pepper. Pour in the boiling water and cover the baking dish. Bake until tender, which will take a little over 1 hour. Then remove the cover of the baking dish and continue the being until all the food is a rich golden brown.
A little dressier menu begins with fruit cup served in orange shells. A mixture of pineapple, apple grapefruit, apricot and dates would be good for this. Fruit cup in orange shells, first; then, Lamb chops; Scalloped potatoes; Baked Hubbard squash; Prune and orange salad; Individual pumpkin pie with whipped cream, for dessert; Coffee, and Orange and black candies.
That prune and orange salad can be most decorative if you arrange it to look like a black-eyed susan. Of course, you know what a black-eyed sussan is-- one of these lovely large summerdaisies with orange-colored petals and a black center. Well, the lettuce foundation will be the leaves on the flower; the black prune will make the black center; and sections of orange with the white membrane removed will radiate from this center to look like petals. French dressing or fruit salad dressing with it whichever you please.
The recipes for scalloped potatoes and pumpkin pie are both in the green radio cook book. Do you remember that fine recipe for lamb) chops in your lamb leaflet? That's the one to use for this meal.
How let's check the two menus before we stop, just to be sure you have everything down.
The first and inexpensive menu: Meat broth with fancy carrot slices; Pork chops de luxe; Baked Hubbard squash; Prune and apricot salad; Orange ice; Chocolate wafers.
The second menu; Fruit cup in orange shells; Lamb chops; Scalloped potatoes; Baked Hubbard squash; Prune and orange salad; Individual pumpkin pie with whipped cream; Hot coffee; Orange and black candies.
Tomorrow the home dressmaker smaller has her innings. We'll talk about making the new sleeves.