Roast Duck With Oyster Dressing

• One 6 – 8 lb duck, washed and cleaned

Season well with salt and pepper and herb seasoning.  Stuff with oyster dressing.   Place in large roasting pan, cover and bake at 350 degrees, basting every half hour.  Bake for 1  1/2 – 2  hours, until brown and tender.  Reserve juices for gravy.

Serve with mint  jelly or cranberry sauce.  Serves 10-12 guests.

Oyster Dressing:

• 1 pan baked corn bread (about 2 lbs, no sugar)
• 1 loaf white bread, cubed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• 1/2  c chopped parsley
• 1 pint oysters, cut in half
• 1/2  lb sausage, slowly fried and browned
• 2 t sage
• 1/2  t  thyme
• 1/2  t  oregano
• 3 eggs, beaten

Add 2 cups water to above ingredients, mix well, and stuff duck.

 A favorite with the Koreshan Family for the Solar Festival.  The Koreshans raised big Muscovie ducks, also Mallards, along with a breed of choice chickens.  Marie Fischer and Roger Perry were in charge of the domestic fowl.

Rebecca’s Green Tomato Mince Meat

• 5 qts sliced green tomatoes

Pour cold water over tomatoes, let come to boiling, drain and chop.  Put in large preserving kettle and add:

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 lb ground suet
• 1  1/2 c  dark molasses
• 2 qts chopped apples
• 1 lb raisins
• 1 lb currants
• 2  1/2  lb sugar
• 1  1/2  T candied orange peel, chopped
• 2 t  salt
• 1/2  lb butter
• 1 c  strong coffee
• 2 c  cider vinegar
• 1 pint jar plum jam
• 1 large can plums
• 2 c  raw cranberries, chopped

Cook on low heat for 2  1/2  hours.  The last half hour, add the following spices:

• 1 T cinnamon
• 1 t each of cloves, mace, nutmeg and allspice

Seal in quart jars while hot.  Yields 6 qts.  When making pies, add 1/2  c  brown sugar on top with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

 This is a prized recipe, coming from a hand-written cookbook of Koreshan Ladies in 1910.  We thought you homemakers would like it, as we have so many tomato farms around our area  This mince meat recipe was canned in the fall of the year, and used often.  A favorite of the Koreshan  family.

Swiss Muesli

• 1  1/2  c rolled oats
• 1  1/2  c water
• 2 c  shredded unpeeled apples
• 1  1/2 c  chopped prunes
• 2 T honey
• 2 T orange juice
• 1/2  t  cinnamon
• Chopped almonds or pecans

Combine oats, water, shredded apples, prunes, honey, orange juice and cinnamon.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  For breakfast, spoon muesli into a cereal bowl.  Top with fresh fruit and nuts.   Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or milk.  Muesli can be stored in a covered container for several days. 

Fresh fruits:  Sliced banana, apple, pineapple, orange segments.

This recipe was a favorite among Koreshan members.  After Mr. L.W.  Bubbett returned from the Swiss Alps, he taught Evelyn Horne this recipe.  She made it for all the members.  It’s so easy an  simple, and you have all the ingredients in your kitchen.

Surinam Cherry Punch

• 1 qt cherry juice (from frozen concentrate)
• 2 oranges, sliced
• 2 Key limes, juiced
• 1 c sugar
• 2 qts Seven-Up
• 1 large punch bowl

To make frozen concentrate, pick a bucket of ripe fruit from tree. Wash, cover with water, leave pits in.  Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer annd cook for thirty minutes.  Pour through large strainer or jelly bag.  Freeze in plastic containers.  Make punch when needed.

This was a special treat for Koreshan Festivals.   In Florida, cherries are ripe in April and May.

Mango Chutney

• 14 c  mangoes (green & ripe), peeled and diced
• 4 c  brown sugar
• 4 c  granulated sugar
• 1 box raisins

• 2 c  cider vinegar
• 1 c  Key lime juice
• 1 t crushed red pepper
• 1 t mustard seed
• 1 t salt
• 1 t ground ginger
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t allspice
• 6 cloves of garlic sliced
• 1/2 c candied ginger, sliced
• 1 c green pepper, chopped
• 1 c red pepper, chopped
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 T hot peppers, chopped

In large kettle with cover, mix together the vinegar, sugar, brown sugar, salt and chopped hot pepper.  Bring mixture to a boil, stirring often.  Add all other ingredients, mix thoroughly. 

Remove from heat, cover and let stand overnight.  Stir thoroughly the next day and cook over medium heat until boiling, reduce to low heat and simmer for two hours.   Do not overcook.  Stir frequently, as it cooks, to avoid sticking.  Place in hot sterilized jars and seal

Note:  This chutney was made at the Koreshan Unity Kitchen by Evelyn Horne.  This recipe was given to Hedwig Michel by a friend in Ceylon(with additions and deletions).  It should mellow for one week before serving.  For a more spicy chutney, increase the hot peppers.

Stuffed Breast of Veal

• 4 to 4 1/2 lb breast of veal, boned and trimmed

Stuffing:

• 1 lb pork sausage
• 1/2/ loaf of white bread
• 1/2 c choped onion
• 1/2 c chopped celery
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 T chopped parsley
• 1 T butter
• salt & pepper to taste

Tear bread into small peices, soak in cold water for five minutes.

In skillet, melt butter, add celery and onion.  Cook until soft and transparent.  Pour into a bowl with drained bread.  Add sausage, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.  Mix well.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place the boned veal flat side down on board.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread the sausage stuffing over veal.  Beginning with the wide side of veal, roll up jelly-roll fashion into a thick cylinder.  Tie the roll at both ends and in the center with white kitchen cord.  Place in a heavy casserole with cover and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes.  Uncover, baste with juices, and cook for another 30 minutes.

Gravy:  Melt 2 T butter, add 2 T flour, slowly pour drained juices from veal.  Add water if necessary.  Stir with a whisk until gravy is smooth and thick.

Serve with plain boiled potatoes and a selection of boiled or braised vegetables.

This recipe was served quite often for guests and family at the Koreshan Unity dining room, and for big occasions, like the Solar Festival.

Savory Mullet (baked fish & stuffing)

• 2 c fine medium bread crumbs
• 1 minced onion
• 1 grated lemon rind
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 t poultry spice
• 1 T melted shortening
• salt and pepper to suit

Prepare a stuffing from the above ingredients, mixing them thoroughly.  If the shortening does not give enough moisture to hold the mixture together, add one or two tablespoons of hot water.

Clean, bone and skin the mullet, and cut into thick slices.  Place the slices in a greased pan and sprinkle the stuffing thickly over the surface.  Bake for 15 minutes in a moderate oven until the fish is tender and the stuffing browned.  Serve plain or with tartar sauce.

This recipe was found in The American Eagle issue of August 10, 1925.   The Koreshans were using a wood-burning stove, so Evelyn baked it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Deep Dish Mango Pie

• 3 to 4 c  sliced mangoes, not fully ripe, quite firm
• juice of 1 lemon or Key line
• 1 c Florida honey
• 2 T flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 2 T butter

Peel and slice mangoes.  Sift flour and spices over fruit and stir lightly.  Place in a deep 9 inch unbaked pie shell.  Pour honey and lemon juice over top, dot with butter.  Cover with a vented top crust and bake at 400 degrees about 40 minutes.

This recipe was a favorite among the Koreshan women.  Try it the first of the mango season this year.

Chicken Fricassee

• 1 hen, cut up
• Boiling water
• 2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c flour
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 ribs celery
• 1 t parsley

Wash chicken pieces.  Put into kettle.  Cover with boiling water  (chicken pieces can first be browned in a little fat, if desired).  Add salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.

Cover and simmer for one hour.  Add celery, onion, parsley and bay leaf.  Simmer again for two hours or until tender.  Remove chicken.  Leave as is or remove bones and skin.  Keep warm.

Skim excess fat from liquid, remove bay leaf and measure liquid.  Add enough water, if needed, to make 4 cups.

Blend milk and flour.  Gradually add a little of the hot liquid and cook, stirring, until thickened.  Beat in egg yolks and strain sauce over chicken.  Serve with mashed patatoes.  Makes 6 servings.

This dish was a favorite at Koreshan Festivals.  Sister Ida Fischer, the head cook at the Koreshan dining room and kitchen, always made this dish to perfection.  It was served with fluffy mashed potatoes.

Family and friends always came to enjoy the love,  friendship and famiy , as well as the good food.

Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 2 c chicken bouillon
• 2 t sugar
• 1/8 t  nutmeg and cloves
• salt to taste

Peel and slice sweet potatoes.  Add to bouillon and bring to a boil.  Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until tender.

Puree in blender.  Reheat with remaining ingredients.  Serve hot or chilled with a dollop of sour cream.  Makes 1 quart.

The Koreshans grew a big crop of sweet potatoes each spring and used them in many ways.