Bill Lynch: ‘I-T’ archives hold their share of ‘surprises’
Off and on over the last three and a half years since I retired, I have been going through several boxes of old clippings, photos and files left to my dad by his aunt Celeste Murphy, who was the editor and publisher of the Index-Tribune from 1915 to 1946.
After returning home from Navy service during World War II, my dad took over the family business. When my grand-aunt Celeste died in 1962, my Dad filled several old suitcases and boxes with stuff she had filed away in her home in the Sonoma Barracks. A lot of that old stuff was never touched after that, until my brother, Jim, and I cleaned out our parents garage following our mom’s death in 2011.
I have made several passes through those suitcases and files, gradually culling out things that are of no particular historical significance, and then putting back stuff that looks interesting, but would take time to read.
One of those things was a complete November 1939 issue of the Index-Tribune.
There were several eye-catching stories in that issue, including one about building a new ballpark behind the Boyes Hot Springs Bath House where the Pacific Coast League SF Seals held their spring training.
But another little story on page five caught my eye primarily because it was so typical of small-town Sonoma in those days. It was the results of a recipe contest in which Katherine Vanderburg of Sonoma won first prize for her “Ginger Bread Supreme.”
That story also reminded me that during my tenure at the I-T, we sponsored recipe contests for several years in the 1980s. Local residents submitted their favorite recipes, a panel of local cooks/chefs chose finalists in eight different categories from appetizers to side and main dishes to various desserts.
The finalists were then invited to prepare their dish and bring it to a grand “taste-off” at the Sonoma Valley Veterans Memorial Building where a tasting panel of judges made of prominent local cooks and professional chefs chose the top three prize winners in each category, including a grand prize winner.
The grand prize winner in 1983 was Nadine Weinkauf for her “Surprise Hors d’oeuvre.”
Here is the recipe:
1/4 lb. ground lean sirloin steak; 1/4 lb. whole anchovies (Italian imported packed in salt); 3 cloves of garlic; 1 T. wine vinegar; 3 T. olive oil; 2 T. fresh, finely chopped parsley
Spread raw chopped (ground) sirloin thinly over serve-plate. Wash salt from anchovies and filet carefully to remove bones, chop fine, spread over sirloin. Sprinkle chopped garlic and vinegar over mixture.
Keep refrigerated no longer than two to three hours. Then, when ready to serve, sprinkle olive oil and chopped parsley over mixture and serve with rounds cut from sour dough bread baguettes.
And just in case you are curious, here is Mrs. Vanderburg’s 1939 winning Ginger Bread recipe:
3/4 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, 1 cup dark Brer Rabbit molasses, 1 cup black coffee, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 3 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Mix the spices with the molasses. Dissolve the soda in a little boiling water and add to the coffee. Cream the butter and sugar; add the eggs one at a time, beating each one well. Add the molasses, then the coffee and flour a little at a time alternately. Bake in bread tins in a moderately hot oven 40 to 60 minutes, or until the cake leaves the sides of the pan.
And, yes, Brer Rabbit Molasses is still sold in grocery stores today.
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