The Spirit of Seventy-Six!
In honor of the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, all recipes through July 4, 2026 will be from Centennial and Bicentennial cookbooks and the 1796 first American cookbook. Enjoy this look at the (gastronomic) spirit of ’76 as we head into the sestercentennial.
I’ve also published a Sestercentennial Cookery with recipes and photos!
This is a wonderful flavor; the stew can be eaten as a stew, or the solids removed and the stock further reduced. It is great on its own, with rice, and over biscuits.
Mrs. Ella E. Myers’s Centennial Cook Book and General Guide was a celebration of America’s Centennial, 1876, with a heavy emphasis on Philadelphia. It is filled with wonderful “engravings of all the ‘old landmarks’ in Philadelphia—Independence Hall, in 1776 and 1876; the oldest churches; the house in which the ‘Declaration of Independence’ was written; the house where the first American flag was made; all the present public buildings, institutions, cemeteries, &c.; scenes in Fairmount Park, concluding with engravings of all the Centennial Exposition Buildings.”
It’s a fascinating souvenir of our nation’s “Centennial Birthday”, a hundred and fifty years ago. It is definitely worth looking at during our nation’s 250-year Sestercentennial.
Don’t make cooking a science. Adapt it as an art. — Vrest Orton (Cooking with Wholegrains)