For Sunday’s Tea

I was looking at some recipes in a 1933 newspaper yesterday; some of them were just the sort of thing we might find now in a cookery section of our daily, candied lemon or orange peel, boiled cake, apple puddings… some of them were a little different from what we might cook these days.

‘Cheese and macaroni cutlets’ may sound as you begin to read the recipe familiar – everyone loves macaroni cheese, and it’s really popular again these days! However, have a look at the actual recipe,; see if you would be bothered to go through all these processes:

Cheese and macaroni cutlets

• 4oz. of grated cheese
• 2 oz. of macaroni
• 1 oz. of margarine
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 gill of milk
• ½, teaspoon of made mustard
• breadcrumbs
• seasoning to taste
• 1 more beaten egg
• oil or butter for frying

1. boil the macaroni in the milk until tender and drain
2. add cheese, salt and pepper, mustard, margarine and beaten eggs
3. return to heat but do not boil
4.  set aside to cool
5. when cool, form into cutlets, dip into egg and breadcrumbs and fry until golden brown

Another dish which I can’t imagine anyone cooking today, and which I imagine most people would not only be revolted by, but would worry that it might give them BSE, even though sheep cannot contract it, is a dish made from sheep’s brains… yes, the brains of sheep…

This dish is the one actually described as ‘For Sunday’s Tea‘ – how tastes change! Just in case you would like to cook it for tea today, here is what you need and what you do:

• 4 sheep’s brains
• 6 medium-size tomatoes, cut into thick slices
• 3 oz of butter
• biscuit or breadcrumbs
• cup of stock

1. wash the brains well, clean, boil and  half or cut into three pieces
2. thoroughly butter a deep serving dish
3. dredge it with half the biscuit or breadcrumbs
4. arrange half the brains
5. place on the cut tomatoes and make a deep
6. layer, the remaining brains
7. add the stock and season
8. top with the rest of the biscuits or breadcrumbs crumbs
9. bake in a medium oven until a rich brown and serve hot

At the end of the recipe is this note… ‘This is also a delicious dish for convalescing patients…‘